Music and Lyrics
"What You Waiting For?" is an electropop and New Wave song composed in common time and in the key of G minor. It is written in verse-chorus form, and its instrumentation comes from the guitar and electronic keyboard. The song opens with an emotional piano solo as a tribute to Stefani's time with No Doubt. The verse begins at only sixty beats per minute and gradually slows, mixed with sounds of applause from the audience. A beat set at 138 BPM begins, and Stefani repeats the phrase "tick-tock", commonly interpreted as a reference to her maternal clock and the pressures she felt about producing the album.
Stefani creates an argument between lyrical personas by alternating her vocal range and point of view. Stefani's vocal range spans nearly two octaves in the song, from G3 to F5. In a melody similar to that of Weezer's "Hash Pipe", one side of Stefani's personality sings in a higher range in the first person, and the other, more confident personality sings lower in the second person. During the verses, the more nervous personality discusses her concerns about leaving No Doubt for a solo career as well as the ephemeral success of female singers in the music industry. The chorus is a boost of confidence for her and continues the song's time motif with the lines "Look at your watch now/You're still a super hot female". Backed by perfect octave dyads, Stefani sings a verse about her excitement for her future, and the two personalities merge into one during the coda.
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