Tal Herzberg, who also provided additional editing with the use of Pro Tools technology. The song features a large number of instrumentalists on the song. On the basses are Trey Henry and Mike Valerio while Keith Harris plays the drums, keyboard bass and keys. George Pajon Jr. plays the guitar. "Big Girls Don't Cry" features eighteen violinists, four people on the violas, and four people on the celli. The strings were arranged and conducted by Ron Fair, who also produced the additional vocals on the song. They were recorded by Allen Sides at the Signet Sound. The song was mixed at Ocean Way Recordings in Hollywood, California, by Jack Joseph Puig and Dean Nelson. A&M Records, in association with will.i.am Music Group and Interscope Records, sent the song to contemporary hit radio on May 22, 2007, in the United States. Composition "Big Girls Don't Cry" has a length of 4 minutes and 28 seconds. It incorporates elements from different genres such as acoustic folk and is composed by simple drums, synthesizers, violins, strings, viola, and celli. The song is written in the key of G major and is set in time signature of common time with a moderate pop tempo of 113 beats per minute. Fergie's vocal range spans from the high-tone of C5 to the lower register of G3. The song has a basic sequence of G–Csus2–D5 as its chord progression. The song is a ballad about the end of a relationship and dealing with personal issues. Critical reception "Big Girls Don't Cry" received general acclaim. Spence D. of IGN writes that the album's aura diminishes as "Big Girls Don't Cry" plays and comments "Listening to this song it begins to dawn on you that by this juncture the album has strategically delivered a song tailor made for each of the varying commercial radio formats." Mike Joseph of PopMatters praised the song for permitting her vocal ability to shine. Bill Lamb of About.com rated the song four out of five stars, praising the mood, lyrics and vocals as "mellow, still sexy", "intelligent" and "strong". He noted however that there could be a moment in the song where it all catches fire. Lamb further added that the simple, gentle back lets the track unfolds on its own and that the song represents artistic growth on Fergie and will.i.am's part after time off from the Black Eyed Peas. Kelly Smith of