User:Sauloviegas/Sandbox9

Background and release
Admist rumors that Girls Aloud were going to split in 2007, the group announced that they would release a new album in November of that year. The production and songwriting began with producer Brian Higgins meeting each member of the group individually, and discussing their life since the release of Chemistry (2005). Higgins took inspiration from these discussions in his songwriting, with bandmate Nicola Roberts explaining that "it's important he's up to date with where we are. Our songs have to reflect us so that's why we do it." "Can't Speak French" was then written and composed, with Higgins describing it as "perhaps, the easiest Girls Aloud single they made." Roberts, Cheryl Cole, Sarah Harding and Kimberley Walsh recorded vocals for the song in London, England, while Nadine Coyle recorded her vocals in Los Angeles, California. The song was one of many options for a third single from Tangled Up; others included "Close to Love" and Girl Overboard". On 14 March 2008, "Can't Speak French" was released through digital download along with "Hoxton Heroes", while it was also made available on two different CD single formats three days after. The first disc features the same track listing as the digital release,  while the second disc includes "Je Ne Parle Pas Français", a live cover version of Robyn's 2007 single "With Every Heartbeat", as performed on the BBC Radio 1 programme Jo Whiley's Live Lounge, anda also the Passions Remix and the music video of "Can't Speak French".

B-sides
After being selected as a single, the band decided to record a version of "Can't Speak French" in French, entitled "Je Ne Parle Pas Français", which would be released as a b-side. On 31 January 2008, James Cabooter of Daily Star revealed that another song titled "Hoxton Heroes" would also be included as a b-side on the single release of "Can't Speak French". "Hoxton Heroes" was originally going to be included on Tangled Up; however, it was deemed too controversial to appear on the album, being removed from the track listing. A staff reporter for NME revealed that the lyrics are a diss to "indie kids" and "scenesters" that hang around Hoxton and Primrose Hill, with Girls Aloud singing, "Just cause your dad knew the Rolling Stones / You've got the Primrose set in your cell phone/ Don't kid yourself you're an indie clone/We've seen it before/Get a sound of your own". Walsh said that indie bands "say we're a manufactured band, but they're just as manufactured", while Roberts thought the song was not aggressive enough. On 7 February 2008, a snippet of "Hoxton Heroes" was made available through MySpace, while on 26 February 2008, a snippet of "Je Ne Parle Pas Français" was released through Heatworld.com.

Music video
The accompanying music video for "Can't Speak French" was directed by Petro Papahadjopoulos under the production company Draw Pictures, and edited by Nabil Mechi. It was filmed in January 2008, when Cole was going through personal struggles with her marriage to footballer Ashley Cole at the time. Tabloids were reporting that the footballer was cheating on the singer; however, a representative for the band's label released a statement saying, "Cheryl knew nothing about Ashley’s affair. She was in bits at the filming." The singer later revealed on Girls Aloud's auto-biography Dreams that Glitter – Our Story that she in fact "had a lot of personal stuff going on, the papers were full of it, and you find your inner strenght, your inner performer. ... I look back at that video now and I can see how I felt on the day but I don't think people at home will." The music video cost £100,000 pounds to produce, and the concept was inspired by Marie Antoinette and 18th century French fashions. The video premiered online on 14 February 2008, and features Girls Aloud crashing a sophisticated dinner party and seducing the male guests, as they dance provocatively and flirt with them. Throughout the video, individual shots of each girl in front of a coloured wall are interpolated.

Live performances and usage in media
"Can't Speak French" was performed live for the first time on The Friday Night Project Christmas special on 21 December 2007, which was co-hosted by the band. Following the release of the single, Girls Aloud appeared on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, where they performed the song wearing the costumes from the music video. Coyle said that "we were fully costumed, everybody looking at us like we were crazy. You could see us a mile off and smell the hairspray coming, but I love that we get to dress up and call it a job." The band also performed it at BBC Switch's Sound, The Paul O'Grady Show, T4, and at the V Festival in 2008. The same year, "Can't Speak French" was performed during the Tangled Up Tour. The song was also performed on 2009's Out of Control Tour, where the song was included in a greatest hits medley which closed the concerts. In 2013, the song was performed during the Ten: The Hits Tour. A remix of the song was used as the theme for television series The Passions of Girls Aloud.