Work (The Saturdays song)
Encyclopedia
"Work" is the fifth single from British-Irish girl group The Saturdays
. The pop
song was written by Ina Wroldsen, Harry Sommerdahl and Kalle Engström. "Work" was released as the final single from the group's debut album, Chasing Lights
. The single was released by Fascination Records
in the United Kingdom
and Europe
, while releasing the single in Ireland
under the label of Polydor Records
.
The song was released with a music video, which was filmed on 16 May 2009 at Shepperton Studios
. The music video features a different beat to the single. The music video became the bands most viewed video (at the time of the release), and which took concept of the band's upcoming tour to be titled The Work Tour
. "Work", kicked the tour off, by having clips of the music video, where they do the catwalk.
Although the song was a fan favourite, the song was officially released on 29 June 2009, where the single failed to gain the success as the band's four previous singles. The song debuted at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Charts, number twenty-one on the Irish Singles Charts, and a disappointing sixty-eight on the European Hot 100 Singles. To date "Work" has become the band's worst charting single, with "Work" being one of two The Saturdays songs which have not charted inside of the UK Top 10. The other is "My Heart Takes Over
". The single was remixed by audio and music technician, Phil Tan
for its release.
's "Just Can't Get Enough".
Its CD single release coincided with the group's first series of headline gigs, The Work Tour
, in June 2009.
"Work" debuted at number forty-eight on the UK Singles Chart
on 13 June 2009 solely on digital downloads and it went on to peak at number twenty-two, making it their lowest-charting single to date, as well as their first to miss the top ten and the top twenty.
Mollie King
opens the song and sings the first verse, the first bridge and a backing vocal during the second bridge. Una Healy
sings backing vocals during the first bridge and adlibs in the final chorus. Vanessa White
sings the second verse, leads the chorus, adlibs on the final chorus and closes the song. Frankie Sandford
sings the second bridge and small adlib between the final chorus and the end of the song. Rochelle Wiseman
sings the third bridge and does adlibs in the final chorus.
, Nick Levine described the song as "sparky electropop" that has a "memorable chorus." Later Digital Spy said of the video: "Adopting the classic girlband-in-a-warehouse theme, the ladies strut their stuff down a makeshift catwalk, tease the camera seductively and even attempt a few risqué dance moves. This video won't set the world alight with its dazzling originality, but it nicely complements a real thumper of a song." Jon O'Brien of Allmusic described the track as "muscular dance-pop" and compared it to the music of Rihanna
. BBC Music
wrote that "tracks like 'Work'...can be skipped in an instant and have 'filler' written all over." PrincessF1 of Dooyoo compared the song to Kelly Rowland
's song, which was titled "Work
" also, by saying it was "very dancey". She later went onto say that the single sounded a bit like Dizzee Rascal
's music. She later said "This is yet another song that to me doesn't stand out to me on the album there are deffinatly better tracks on the album surrounding it." Ciao! stated "I didn't really like it. I heard it a few days ago, however, and I was like 'oh my god! I love this song!'. So, therefore, I would say this song is the kind of song which depends on which mood you are in on whether you like it or not. Since, then I have heard a couple of times more, and sometimes I'm like 'I Love it!' and other times I'm like 'argh! it's so annoying!" He went on to say. "The song is very catchy and has somewhat of a 'girl power' feel to it, as it's quite 'loud'. It's a bouncy kind of song, which makes you just want to get up and dance up and down, which makes it a great song for a party. It has a real 'pop' sound to it."
recorded and was directed by JT, on the 16th of June 2009. The video was set at Shepperton Studios
in Spelthorne
, Surrey
. The music video has a different tune to the single version, the video version was a remix of the song, which has a heavier instrumentation and a thicker bassline, produced by music engineer, Phil Tan
. Throughout the whole video, the band are seen walking the catwalk in 'sexy' black outfits, apart from Vanessa. Within the warehouse the group dances and walks provocatively on a catwalk. Each group member is dressed in a black outfit, except White, who is dressed in a pink catsuit
. In the latter part of the video, they are accompanied by male dancers, who are also dressed in black outfits. The video premièred on MSN Video
on 27 May 2009. On 25 June 2009, Matt Edmondson
presented The Saturdays at Work, a FIVER behind-the-scenes
documentary following the making of the video. Some music channels have also been showing the 'Cahill Radio Edit' remix of the song. The video for this version of the song is exactly the same but features streaks of colour which have been digitally super-imposed upon the original imagery.
cover). Then as the music starts, King appears to start the song off, walking down the catwalk, then the rest of the girls are behind her, then the band spent out. The little girl hears the sound of the girls singing and dancing, and she walks up the stairs to see what the noise is, and spotts the band singing and dancing.
(Released )
iTunes digital single
(Released )
CD single
(2707835; Released )
fifth single, became their lowest charting single to date. The single had minus-success compare to their present and past singles. "Work" became the only single not to chart within the top 10, in the United Kingdom
, present and past. "Work" charted at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Charts, twenty-one on the Irish Singles Charts and sixty-eight on the European Hot 100 Singles. "Work" was the only single released by The Saturdays, ever to have not charted on the Scottish Singles Chart
. To date the single has been the lowest selling single, plus the lowest chart position by the band.
The Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
. The pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song was written by Ina Wroldsen, Harry Sommerdahl and Kalle Engström. "Work" was released as the final single from the group's debut album, Chasing Lights
Chasing Lights
Chasing Lights is the debut album by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays, released on 27 October 2008 by Fascination Records. The album was re-issued on 16 March 2009 to include their cover of Depeche Mode's 1981 song "Just Can't Get Enough"....
. The single was released by Fascination Records
Fascination Records
Fascination Records is a UK-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in spring 2006, and is managed by former TOTP Magazine editor Peter Loraine...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, while releasing the single in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
under the label of Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
.
The song was released with a music video, which was filmed on 16 May 2009 at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
. The music video features a different beat to the single. The music video became the bands most viewed video (at the time of the release), and which took concept of the band's upcoming tour to be titled The Work Tour
The Work Tour
The Work Tour is the debut headlining theatre tour by British girl group The Saturdays. The tour became the bands first headlining tour, but their second time actually touring, after they spent part of 2008 as support act for Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour. The tour opened on 2 June 2009, and...
. "Work", kicked the tour off, by having clips of the music video, where they do the catwalk.
Although the song was a fan favourite, the song was officially released on 29 June 2009, where the single failed to gain the success as the band's four previous singles. The song debuted at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Charts, number twenty-one on the Irish Singles Charts, and a disappointing sixty-eight on the European Hot 100 Singles. To date "Work" has become the band's worst charting single, with "Work" being one of two The Saturdays songs which have not charted inside of the UK Top 10. The other is "My Heart Takes Over
My Heart Takes Over
"My Heart Takes Over" is the third single released from girl-group The Saturdays's third studio album, On Your Radar. The single is their twelfth single released to date. The single was released on 13 November 2011. The song was written by Ina Wroldsen and Steve Mac. The song was also produced by...
". The single was remixed by audio and music technician, Phil Tan
Phil Tan
Phil Tan is an Atlanta, GA-based music/audio engineer.He is a 3-time Grammy Award recipient, as mixing engineer for Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" , Ludacris' "Release Therapy" and Rihanna's "Only Girl " .Among the artists on Tan's list of credits: Jill Scott, Jennifer...
for its release.
Background
"Work" was originally scheduled to be released as the third single from Chasing Lights, but the song "Issues" was released instead. Then it was rescheduled to be the fourth single, but was pushed back once again as they were given opportunity to record the 2009 Comic Relief Single, a cover of Depeche ModeDepeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
's "Just Can't Get Enough".
Its CD single release coincided with the group's first series of headline gigs, The Work Tour
The Work Tour
The Work Tour is the debut headlining theatre tour by British girl group The Saturdays. The tour became the bands first headlining tour, but their second time actually touring, after they spent part of 2008 as support act for Girls Aloud on their Tangled Up Tour. The tour opened on 2 June 2009, and...
, in June 2009.
"Work" debuted at number forty-eight on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on 13 June 2009 solely on digital downloads and it went on to peak at number twenty-two, making it their lowest-charting single to date, as well as their first to miss the top ten and the top twenty.
Mollie King
Mollie King
Mollie Elizabeth King is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for being a member of girl group, The Saturdays. In the band, King has successfully enjoyed ten top-ten and five top-five singles on the UK Singles Chart and three top-ten albums on the UK Albums Chart...
opens the song and sings the first verse, the first bridge and a backing vocal during the second bridge. Una Healy
Una Healy
Una Theresa Imogene Healy is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known for being one fifth of girl group The Saturdays...
sings backing vocals during the first bridge and adlibs in the final chorus. Vanessa White
Vanessa White
Vanessa Karen White is an English pop singer and songwriter. White was born to a Nigerian father and Spanish-Filipino mother. She rose to fame in 2008 as a member of English/Irish girl-group The Saturdays. She is the youngest member of the band. White is noted for her extensive vocal range.-Early...
sings the second verse, leads the chorus, adlibs on the final chorus and closes the song. Frankie Sandford
Frankie Sandford
Francesca "Frankie" Sandford is an English pop and R&B singer-songwriter and currently a member of girl group The Saturdays; under the record label of Fascination Records and Polydor Records. The band have had huge success, releasing eleven singles of which ten have charted inside the top 10 on...
sings the second bridge and small adlib between the final chorus and the end of the song. Rochelle Wiseman
Rochelle Wiseman
Rochelle Eulah Eileen Wiseman is an English singer, actress and television presenter. She is best known for her work in pop groups S Club 8 and The Saturdays...
sings the third bridge and does adlibs in the final chorus.
Critical reception
"Work" received generally positive from pop music critics. In a review for Digital SpyDigital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
, Nick Levine described the song as "sparky electropop" that has a "memorable chorus." Later Digital Spy said of the video: "Adopting the classic girlband-in-a-warehouse theme, the ladies strut their stuff down a makeshift catwalk, tease the camera seductively and even attempt a few risqué dance moves. This video won't set the world alight with its dazzling originality, but it nicely complements a real thumper of a song." Jon O'Brien of Allmusic described the track as "muscular dance-pop" and compared it to the music of Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
. BBC Music
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
wrote that "tracks like 'Work'...can be skipped in an instant and have 'filler' written all over." PrincessF1 of Dooyoo compared the song to Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
's song, which was titled "Work
Work (Kelly Rowland song)
"Work" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland. It was written by Rowland, Scott Storch and "Work" is a song recorded by [[United States|American]] singer-songwriter [[Kelly Rowland]]. It was written by Rowland, [[Scott Storch]] and "Work" is a song recorded by [[United...
" also, by saying it was "very dancey". She later went onto say that the single sounded a bit like Dizzee Rascal
Dizzee Rascal
Dylan Kwabena Mills , better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a Ghanaian British rapper, songwriter and record producer. His music is a blend of garage, hip hop, grime, ragga, pop and electronic music, with eclectic samples and more exotic styles...
's music. She later said "This is yet another song that to me doesn't stand out to me on the album there are deffinatly better tracks on the album surrounding it." Ciao! stated "I didn't really like it. I heard it a few days ago, however, and I was like 'oh my god! I love this song!'. So, therefore, I would say this song is the kind of song which depends on which mood you are in on whether you like it or not. Since, then I have heard a couple of times more, and sometimes I'm like 'I Love it!' and other times I'm like 'argh! it's so annoying!" He went on to say. "The song is very catchy and has somewhat of a 'girl power' feel to it, as it's quite 'loud'. It's a bouncy kind of song, which makes you just want to get up and dance up and down, which makes it a great song for a party. It has a real 'pop' sound to it."
Background
Before the release of "Work", the music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
recorded and was directed by JT, on the 16th of June 2009. The video was set at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
in Spelthorne
Spelthorne
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. It includes the towns of Ashford, Laleham, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell and Sunbury...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. The music video has a different tune to the single version, the video version was a remix of the song, which has a heavier instrumentation and a thicker bassline, produced by music engineer, Phil Tan
Phil Tan
Phil Tan is an Atlanta, GA-based music/audio engineer.He is a 3-time Grammy Award recipient, as mixing engineer for Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" , Ludacris' "Release Therapy" and Rihanna's "Only Girl " .Among the artists on Tan's list of credits: Jill Scott, Jennifer...
. Throughout the whole video, the band are seen walking the catwalk in 'sexy' black outfits, apart from Vanessa. Within the warehouse the group dances and walks provocatively on a catwalk. Each group member is dressed in a black outfit, except White, who is dressed in a pink catsuit
Catsuit
A catsuit is a close-fitting one-piece garment that covers the torso and the legs, and frequently the arms. They are usually made from stretchable material, such as lycra, chiffon, spandex , leather, latex, PVC, or velour, and frequently close using a zipper at the front or back.Catsuits, which...
. In the latter part of the video, they are accompanied by male dancers, who are also dressed in black outfits. The video premièred on MSN Video
MSN Video
MSN Video is an Australian video streaming service from ninemsn as well as a United Kingdom internet television service from MSN. It was rebranded on March 11, 2010....
on 27 May 2009. On 25 June 2009, Matt Edmondson
Matt Edmondson
Matt Edmondson is an English television and Sony Award-nominated radio presenter, specialising in music, entertainment and celebrity news.-Television career:...
presented The Saturdays at Work, a FIVER behind-the-scenes
Making-of
In cinema, a making-of, also known as behind-the-scenes, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program...
documentary following the making of the video. Some music channels have also been showing the 'Cahill Radio Edit' remix of the song. The video for this version of the song is exactly the same but features streaks of colour which have been digitally super-imposed upon the original imagery.
Synopsis
As the video begins, there's a little girl walking around an abandoned warehouse, where there are posters of The Saturdays on the wall (the posts are off the album, Chasing LightsChasing Lights
Chasing Lights is the debut album by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays, released on 27 October 2008 by Fascination Records. The album was re-issued on 16 March 2009 to include their cover of Depeche Mode's 1981 song "Just Can't Get Enough"....
cover). Then as the music starts, King appears to start the song off, walking down the catwalk, then the rest of the girls are behind her, then the band spent out. The little girl hears the sound of the girls singing and dancing, and she walks up the stairs to see what the noise is, and spotts the band singing and dancing.
Track listings
Digital single(Released )
- "Work" (Radio Mix) — 3:14
- "Work" (Cahill Radio Edit) — 3:08
iTunes digital single
(Released )
- "Work" (Radio Mix) — 3:14
- "Work" (Cahill Club Mix) — 5:54
CD single
(2707835; Released )
- "Work" (Radio Mix) — 3:14
- "Unofficial" — 3:55
Chart performance
The SaturdaysThe Saturdays
The Saturdays are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London, United Kingdom. The group consists of five members Una Healy, Mollie King, Frankie Sandford, Vanessa White and Rochelle Wiseman. In 2007 the band were formed through Fascination Records which gave them an instant record deal with...
fifth single, became their lowest charting single to date. The single had minus-success compare to their present and past singles. "Work" became the only single not to chart within the top 10, in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, present and past. "Work" charted at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Charts, twenty-one on the Irish Singles Charts and sixty-eight on the European Hot 100 Singles. "Work" was the only single released by The Saturdays, ever to have not charted on the Scottish Singles Chart
Scottish Singles and Albums Chart
The Scottish Singles Chart and Scottish Albums Chart are charts compiled by The Official Charts Company, based on physical and digital sales in the STV North, STV Central and ITV Border regions....
. To date the single has been the lowest selling single, plus the lowest chart position by the band.
Chart position
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|