Unpretty

"Unpretty" is a song by American recording group TLC. It was produced by Dallas Austin and co-written by Austin and TLC member Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins for the band's third studio album, FanMail (1999). Built on a poem of the same name written by Watkins, which dealt with a woman's struggle with her self-image and unrealistic concepts of beauty portrayed in the media. Long time contributor Dallas Austin helped Watkins adapt the poem into an empowering song for their female fan base to overcome feelings of physical inadequacy.

"Unpretty" was the second single released from FanMail. It became the group's fourth US number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks atop the chart, and the second consecutive number one single in from the album, following "No Scrubs". A critical success, the song was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards. A remixed version of the song, sampling Dennis Edwards & Siedah Garrett's "Don't Look Any Further", was produced by JayDee of 1208Ent. and "Mad" Mike Lewin.

I Feel Pretty

"I Feel Pretty" is a song from the 1957 musical West Side Story.

Production

The New York Times explained that "Mr. Sondheim...has said he was never particularly fond of his lyrics in “West Side Story,” especially “I Feel Pretty”", later expressing that “The idea of the song is so simple”.

Synopsis

in the musical, Maria is not yet aware that her love, Tony, has just killed her brother Bernardo, while in the film version, the song occurs before Bernardo's death. In the bridal shop where she works, Maria sings about being happy and feeling beautiful because she is "loved by a pretty wonderful boy", while her coworkers tease her about her silly behavior. Robert Cummings of AllMusic comments that the song "features one of Bernstein's more memorable melodies: its first four notes, deliciously rhythmic in their rising contour, repeat, then are reduced to three, then to two. ... Bernstein's instrumentation colors the music with a Latin character ... and so does the girls' chorus that enters midway through. Stephen Sondheim's lyrics deftly capture Maria's bliss and newfound sense of confidence".