Girlfriend - Single Version

This song is about infidelity. The singer is urging her friend to dump a man who treats her poorly and is unfaithful. Pebbles didn't write the song, but explained that she could relate to it because it was something she had been through.

Released in October 1987, "Girlfriend" was Pebbles' first single, but it was the last song recorded for her debut album. Signed to MCA records on the strength of her demo for "Mercedes Boy" (which she wrote), the record company had the production team of L.A. Reid and Babyface drop by to meet her. The album was almost done, but when Reid and Face heard her work, they asked her to try singing a song they had written for Vanessa Williams: "Girlfriend." She nailed it and asked them to give her the song, even though it was slated for Williams. In Reid's book Sing To Me, he writes that she asked how much Williams was paying for the song and offered more. He and Babyface took the offer. "Vanessa was more than six months pregnant, so the timing could have been better," he wrote. "Vanessa never spoke to me again."

With a crazy hook filled with synth and strings, this was a very clever production that was just right for the '80s. L.A. Reid explained that he also wanted the lyrics to be very streetwise, saying, "At the time, rap music, which is sort of the storybook of ghetto life, didn't have such an appeal. So the little things that we used that were sort of street at the time seemed to be so hip."