Album: Fanmail (1999)

Charted: 6 1

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• I wish I could tie you up in my shoes
  Make you feel unpretty too
  I was told I was beautiful
  But what does that mean to you?
  Look into the mirror who's inside there
  The one with the long hair
  Same old me again today, yeah
  
  My outsides look cool
  My insides are blue
  Every time I think I'm through
  It's because of you
  I've tried different ways
  But it's all the same
  At the end of the day
  I have myself to blame
  I'm just trippin'
  
  You can buy your hair if it won't grow
  You can fix your nose if he says so
  You can buy all the make-up that MAC can make
  But if you can't look inside you
  Find out who am I to
  Be in the position to make me feel so
  Damn unpretty
  Yeah, I'll make you feel unpretty too
  
  Never insecure until I met you
  Now I'm bein' stupid
  I used to be so cute to me
  Just a little bit skinny
  Why do I look to all these things
  To keep you happy?
  Maybe get rid of you and then I'll get back to me (hey)
  
  My outsides look cool
  My insides are blue
  Every time I think I'm through
  It's because of you
  I've tried different ways
  But it's all the same
  At the end of the day
  I have myself to blame
  Can't believe I'm trippin', yeah
  
  You can buy your hair if it won't grow
  You can fix your nose if he says so
  You can buy all the make-up that MAC can make
  But if you can't look inside you
  Find out who am I to
  Be in the position to make me feel so
  Damn unpretty
  
  You can buy your hair if it won't grow
  You can fix your nose if he says so
  You can buy all the make-up that MAC can make
  But if you can't look inside you
  Find out who am I to
  Be in the position to make me feel so
  Damn unpretty
  I'll make you feel unpretty too
  
  I'll make you feel unpretty
  
  Oh-whoa, oh-oh-whoa
  Oh-whoa, oh-oh-whoa-oh
  Oh-whoa, oh-oh-whoa
  Oh-whoa, oh-oh-whoa-oh
  
  You can buy your hair if it won't grow
  You can fix your nose if he says so
  You can buy all the make-up that MAC can make
  But if you can't look inside you
  Find out who am I to
  Be in the position to make me feel so
  Damn unpretty
  
  You can buy your hair if it won't grow
  You can buy all the make-up that MAC can make
  But if you can't look inside you
  Be in the position to make me feel so
  You can buy your hair if it won't grow Writer/s: Dallas Austin, Tionne Watkins
  Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Word Collections Publishing
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 8

• Theodore from Beverly Hills, Ca (at Time Of Video Production)After all of these decades, of never bothering to IMDB this TLC Video/Credit page, it took an original Apple-tv, self-mocking spoof dialogue line, by an actress on M Night Shamalayn’s streaming series titled Servant, where the actress (the nanny) breathed and asked if her breath stunk to the other actor.
  I laughed so hard because I recognized the sarcastic line as being a Shamalayn signature work of greatness, from the block buster film starring Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense back in the late 1990’s & I was wondering what I was doing when Shamalayn’s film was the buzz? Where was I during that time frame? I was actually on a dinner date with one of the lead actresses, Tamika, who played the young girl with the body image problem in the TLC video. I was complimenting her on the toilet scene (because of her natural acting ability at inner dialogue) and how they applied the fake prop vomit.
  
  Her manager was the mother of famous Hollywood actors, Kirk Cameron and Candace Cameron; which meant her talent manager actually had little interested in a TLC Video & hadn’t heard of the groundbreaking black-American, diva girl group of mega talented sistas out of Atlanta. I am originally from the Southern US or Dirty South of hip hop and LaFace was huge in my life as a music fan.
  
  Tamika went out for the audition and being that she was a NYC area transplant, her background was mostly in stage & musical.
  I recall that she auditioned for a white guy & she made a creative decision, via instincts,(which is the beauty mark of a great technique actor) to turn around & show her appealing asset and smacked her booty as she strutted out the audition studio room and he cast her almost instantly due to her charm, charisma and boldness but yet he isn’t listed on IMDB credits and this So Unpretty Video actually had at least a few directors because Tamika’s scenes were basically directed by the same guy that held the auditions...also unlisted on IMDB (therefore the music industry doesn’t credit proper co-directors, casting people and even song composers). The consolidation of music credits, into the more high profile label media executive personalities (like Left Eye unlisted writing credits per TLC’s own legal complaints against their manager) is how the music industry cannibalizes their own talent, to the point that MTV/VH1 turned into reality tv shows and artist started releasing their own music, via a single track via streaming, which killed the record stores and selling of entire albums and or CD’s.
  Why? Because the listed credited director and producer on IMDB relied on more experienced sub-directors that could create a mini-film narrative; like Tamika’s story line as a young girl with the eating disorder but in real life & therefore different actors may have had different directors & they aren’t credited.
  Anyway, I was so proud of Tamika for getting that role in the biggest selling diva girl group (TLC) our at the time.
  I encouraged her to order the most costly and biggest thing on the menu, she talked about working with the co-director and her NY Stage Theatrical Roots where she sung Send in the Clowns as an audition portfolio before the two of us got into the car and blared TLC and newly released Jay-Z while zooming down Sunset Blvd. The Hollywood Stars were definitely shining that night.
• Nancy from Washington, DcEvery time I feel "ugly" or "unpretty", I listen to this song and it inspire me to look within myself...and then I begin to realize that what matters the most is what's inside you. Looks will fade, but your heart and soul stays the same...
• Nikki from Chicago, IlUnpretty" originated from a poem of the same name written by T-Boz, which dealt with a woman's struggle with her self-image. The poem also addressed the comparisons many females make between themselves and the sometimes unrealistic concepts of beauty, as it is commonly portrayed in the media. Upon reading the poem, TLC producer Dallas Austin helped T-Boz adapt the poem into a song. The poem "Unpretty" can be found in T-Boz' 1999 published book of poetry called "Thoughts".
• Fulu from Limpopo, South Africawhen it comes to women, i think the beauty counts more than anything. that's what man wants,,, a beautiful lady.. but ladies should not stress much if they are ugly.. take it from the song, you will come into terms with the reality of beauty..
• Phoebe from Belchertown, MaWow...
  Excellent.
• Tynee from Birmingham, Alboth the song and video are good it just sad that left eye is no longer here
• Neha from Oakville, CanadaI thought this song was wonderful the first time I had heard it. It is one of my all-time favourite songs and has a very deep meanning to it.
• Dave from Cardiff, WalesHanson are not the first band you'd associate with TLC, but when this song came out in 1999, more than a few people began to remark on the similarity between "Unpretty" and Hanson's 1997 #1 "MMM-Bop"!

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