Bills, Bills, Bills

Infobox Single
Name = Bills, Bills, Bills


Artist = Destiny's Child
from Album = The Writing's on the Wall
B-side =
Released = flagicon|US June 15 1999
flagicon|UK July 12 1999
flagicon|AUS September 14 1999
flagicon|Germany September 21 1999
Format = CD maxi single, 12" maxi single
Recorded =
Genre = R&B, pop
Length = 4:33
Label = Columbia
Writer = Kevin Briggs, Kandi Burruss, Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, Kelly Rowland
Producer = She'kspere
Certification = Gold
Last single = "Get on the Bus"
(1999)
This single = "Bills, Bills, Bills"
(1999)
Next single = "Bug a Boo"
(1999)

"Bills, Bills, Bills" is a song by Destiny's Child, released as the first single from their second album "The Writing's on the Wall". It echoed the female empowerment sentiments of TLC's massive summer hit "No Scrubs", and featured the same producer (Kevin She'kspere Briggs) and songwriter (Kandi Burruss). The song provided the quartet with their first US chart-topper in July 1999, and also reached the UK Top 10. The album featured a greater creative input from the quartet, although they still relied on a heavyweight production crew including Rodney Jerkins, Missy Elliott, Chad Elliot, and Dwayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Tone!

The music video for "Bills, Bills, Bills" (directed by Darren Grant) was shot in a beauty salon as a tribute to Tina Knowles, group member Beyoncé Knowles' mother. It was also the first of three videos that would include Farrah Franklin, though she played only a minor role as a salon client.

Charts

"Bills, Bills, Bills" debuted at #84 on the Hot 100 and climbed to #1 five weeks later, where it remained for a week and spent a total of twenty weeks on the chart. It was the first Destiny's Child song that peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song also won a BMI Pop award for being the most played song. Before "Bills, Bills, Bills," the only top ten single the group had achieved was "No, No, No Pt. 2".

"Bills, Bills, Bills" also reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks for nine consecutive weeks, making it one of the longest running number one singles ever on this chart and the most weeks at the summit in 1999. It was also the ninth best-selling single of the year in the U.S.

In the UK "Bills, Bills, Bills" peaked at number six and went onto sell over 165,000 copies.

Responses

Despite the success of the single, some listeners questioned the theme, interpreting the demand that the man pay the woman's bills and the accompanying threat of leaving him if he didn't as male bashing. Additionally, the man in the song is subjected to insults, accusing him of being a "triflin', good for nothing type of brother." Destiny's Child countered that their lyrics were meant to be empowering for women Fact|date=February 2007.

Certain lyrics within the song reveal that the targets of its criticism are men who do not repay debts, not all men in general. These include lines such as "now you've been maxing out my card," "and then you use my cell phone / [...] / and when the bill comes all of a sudden you be acting dumb," and "and now you ask to use my car / Drive it all day and don't fill up the tank." These same complaints are referred to in the refrain, when the women ask, "Can you pay my bills? / Can you pay my telephone bills? / Do you pay my automo' bills?"

Sporty Thievz, the same group that wrote "No Pigeons" as response to TLC's "No Scrubs," wrote a response to "Bills, Bills, Bills" entitled "No Billz (Why, Why, Why)." Sporty Thievz were also featured on the main remix of Bills, Bills, Bills produced by the Trackmasters, along with a female rapper called Jazz.

Track listing

US Single

;12" Promo [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/531665 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ] "Side A"
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Livegig Mix) - 7:12
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Dub Mix) - 8:03"Side B"
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-N-Groove Mix) - 7:22
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Album Version) - 4:16

;12" Single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/239795 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ] "Side A"
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Album Version) - 4:16
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-N-Groove Club Mix) - 7:16
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (A Capella) - 4:00"Side B"
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Livegig Mix) - 7:33
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Dub Mix) - 8:04

;CD Maxi-Single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/235527 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ]
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Album Version) - 4:16
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-N-Groove Club Mix) - 7:07
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (A Capella) - 4:02
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Livegig Mix) - 7:34
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Dub Mix) - 8:03

UK Single

;CD Maxi-Single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/1069414 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ]
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" - 4:16
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" (I Can't Go For That Remix) - 3:57
#"No, No, No" (Part II) (featuring Wyclef Jean) - 3:30

France Single

;12" Single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/833354 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ] "Side A"
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" - 4:16
#"I Can't Go For That" (Bills, Bills, Bills Remix) - 3:57"Side B"
#"I Can't Go For That" (Bills, Bills, Bills Remix - Radio Edit) - 3:38
#"I Can't Go For That" (Bills, Bills, Bills Remix - W/O Rap) - 3:22

;CD Single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/941735 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ]
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" - 4:16
#"I Can't Go For That" (Bills, Bills, Bills Remix) (Radio Edit) - 3:38

Austria Single

;CD Maxi-Single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/226223 Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills ] ]
#"Bills, Bills, Bills" - 4:16
#"I Can't Go For That" (Bills, Bills, Bills Remix) (Radio Edit) - 3:38
#"I Can't Go For That" (Bills, Bills, Bills Remix) - 3:57
#"No, No, No" (Part I) - 4:07
#"With Me" (Part II) - 4:14

Formats and remixes

:"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Radio Edit):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Acapella):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (#1's Edit):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Jonathan Coulton):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Instrumental):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Ben Jay Remix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-N-Groove Club Mix Instrumental):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-N-Groove Club Mix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Digital Black-n-Groove Club Radio Remix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (DJ Def Club's Xclusive Mix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Dub Mix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Livegig Mix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (Maurice's Xclusive Mix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (UK Garage Mix):"Bills, Bills, Bills" (D'n'D 2-Step Mix)

:"I Can't Go For That" ('BBB' Trackmasters Remix Radio Edit) (feat Jazz-Ming & Sporty Thievz):"I Can't Go For That" ('BBB' Trackmasters Remix) (feat Jazz-Ming & Sporty Thievz):"I Can't Go For That" ('BBB' Trackmasters Remix Acapella) (feat Jazz-Ming & Sporty Thievz):"I Can't Go For That" ('BBB' Trackmasters Remix Instrumental)

Credits and personnel

* Lead vocals: Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland
* Vocal production - Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, Kevin Briggs, She'kspere

References