"First" is a song recorded by American actress and singer Lindsay Lohan for her debut studio albumSpeak. It was released as the album's third and final single on May 8, 2005. "First" was also released to help promote the Disney film , in which it appears on the. Lohan played the lead on Herbie: Fully Loaded. The song is about wanting to come first in her boyfriend's life. "First" failed to chart in the United States, but it performed well in Taiwan. "First" was the least successful single from Speak.
Background and recording
"First" was written and produced by Kara DioGuardi and John Shanks, who would later produce Lohan's second albumA Little More Personal . The song was recorded in September 2004 at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood. She had been recording and filming the movie back-to-back. DioGuardi and Cory Rooney, who wrote and produced Lohan's first single "Rumors", provided background vocals for the song. "Speak", the title track from the album, was originally going to be released as the third single. Angela Robinson, director of Herbie: Fully Loaded, looked at Lohan's album to see if she could find a track that could be incorporated in the film. She enjoyed listening to "First" and approached Lohan about it being released as the next single. Even though the song is about wanting to be the first person in a boyfriend's life, in the context of the film, however, it is taken as wanting to finish first in a car race.
Critical reception
called the song and the second track "promising", while criticizing the other songs on the album. The song was noted for its ending line in the chorus: I wanna come first. Some bloggers have interpreted the meaning of the song as Lohan announcing, in a double entendre to adult listeners, that she wanted to orgasm before her male partners during sex.
Chart performance
"First" failed to chart on the US BillboardHot 100 or the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It was, however, successful in many other countries. The single charted within the top-ten in Taiwan and Indonesia. The single charted at number 31 in Australia, just missing out by one spot on the ARIA Charts. It also charted at number 41 in Switzerland and at number 74 in Germany.
Music video
The accompanying music video for "First" began shooting in May 2005, after Lohan had recently bleached her auburn hair blonde. The music video was directed by Jake Nava, who directed her previous singles "Rumors" and "Over". The music video takes place in a garage-like arena in the middle of a race. Lohan and her band sing the song from a stage right next to the track, while clips from Herbie: Fully Loaded play. Lohan also sings and dances beside Herbie, the anthropomorphic Volkswagen Beetle.
Live performances
Lohan performed "First" at KIIS-FM 102.7 Wango Tango event in 2005. She also performed "Speak", the album's title track.
