"Cornflake Girl" is a song by American singer–songwriter and musician Tori Amos. It was released as the first single from her second studio albumUnder the Pink, on January 10, 1994, by EastWest Records in the United Kingdom, and on May 5, 1994, by Atlantic Records in North America. Singer Merry Clayton provided backup singing and sang the "man with the golden gun" bridge. Peaking at number two on the US BillboardBubbling Under Hot 100, "Cornflake Girl" also experienced commercial success worldwide. It peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart, number nine on the Irish Singles Chart, and number two in Iceland. In Australia, Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands, it reached the top 40.
Inspiration and meaning
The inspiration for "Cornflake Girl" came from a conversation she was having with a longtime friend about female genital mutilation in Africa, specifically how a close female family member would betray the victim by performing the procedure. Amos has said that growing up, the name they gave to girls who would hurt you despite close friendship was cornflake girls. The reference to corn flakes and raisins comes from their distribution in a box of breakfast cereal, implying that "raisin girls" are much harder to find than "cornflake girls". Amos has spoken in interviews about being referred to glibly as "the cornflake girl" due to the song's title being applied to her, when she considers herself a "raisin girl". Moreover, she specifically states in the first line of the song: "Never was a cornflake girl." Atlantic released a series of Corn Flakes boxes with pictures of Amos on them to promote the single, which are now collectable items. Amos appeared in a commercial filmed in 1984 for Kellogg'sJust Right, made before her widespread fame. Just Right includes corn flakes and raisins, so the song and the cereal are related either through coincidence or intent. The term "cornflake girl" also appears in the lyrics of the Billy Bragg song "Body of Water" on his 1991 album Don't Try This at Home with the line "Oh, to become a pearl / In the wordy world of the cornflake girl"..
Release
Two separate "Cornflake Girl" CD singles were released in the UK. The first, released on January 10, 1994, contains three original b-sides: "Sister Janet", "All the Girls Hate Her" and "Over It"; the latter two being part of a Piano Suite. The second, released on January 17, 1994, was a limited edition picture CD housed in a digipak, containing cover versions of the songs "A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell, "If 6 Was 9" by Jimi Hendrix and "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday. The first CD single was replicated for the German and Australasian release, and its b-sides were re-used for the US "God" and "Cornflake Girl" releases. Other than "A Case of You" appearing on a US promotional CD compilation and a limited 2-CD Australian tour edition of "Under the Pink", the three cover versions on the limited UK "Cornflake Girl" CD single have not been released on any other title to date, and are not available to purchase through digital retailers. As such, this CD remains a collectible item.
Reception
Cashbox wrote, "More painful confessional from Amos, a gifted singer-songwriter with a knack for making childhood pain perfect top-40 fodder. Reminiscent of early Kate Bush, this track will look to alternative and college radio for acceptance first, with rock outlets hopefully responding as well. Thematically, a bit depressing for hits stations, but an affecting, important release nonetheless." John Kilgo from The Network Forty described the song as "trademark Tori Amos from the lyrics to the grassroots cadence." The song reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and was Amos' most successful international hit at the time. The single peaked within the top 10 in Ireland and Iceland, and within the top 20 in Australia. It was placed at number 35 on the Australian radio station Triple J's 1994 Hottest 100 poll, and ranked in Blender magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born at number 433.
Music video
There were two different videos for "Cornflake Girl". The UK version was directed by Big TV!, two directors from the UK. Tori said that is based on The Wizard of Oz, except that Dorothy goes to Hell instead. Tori stated that she wanted there to be "two different visual expressions" of the song. The US video features Tori driving a truck full of women around a typical American desert.
The song was covered by post-hardcore band Jawbox as a hidden track on their self-titled 1996 album, as well as by the bandTapping the Vein on the Tori Amos tribute album, Songs of a Goddess. In 2007, after Amos had to pull out of an appearance on the Australian comedy program The Sideshow, musical comedy trio Tripod performed the song in her place. On March 25, 2010, British electronic musician Imogen Heap covered the song live in Australia. The performance was done per request by the winner of an online charity auction who paid about US$4000 to win the item "VIP Experience Meet Imogen Heap + A Song Just For You". On September 19, 2018, the British band Florence + The Machine released their version of this song, exclusively for Spotify platform. A cover version performed by Jeff Russo and Noah Hawley was used for the soundtrack to season 2 of the Legion TV series.
