Do It Well

"Do It Well" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her sixth studio album, '' Brave'' (2007). It was written and produced by Ryan Tedder, with Leonard Caston, Anita Poree, and Frank Wilson receiving writing credits for the sample of Eddie Kendrick's " Keep on Truckin". It features additional vocal production from Cory Rooney. "Do It Well" is a pop song featuring influences by disco and hip hop music. It received mostly favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its anthemic vibe, though some criticized its "recycled" production.

Commercially, the song fared well worldwide, reaching the top twenty in over eleven countries and even peaking at top-ten positions in Hungary and Italy, while reaching the top-forty on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The music video directed by David LaChapelle finds Lopez rescuing a little boy who is forced to work in the kitchen of an S&M nightclub. To promote the record, Lopez performed it in many television shows, while also adding the song on the setlist of her tours, Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony en Concierto (2007) and Dance Again World Tour (2012).

Background

Whilst having success with her fourth studio album's lead single, " Get Right", on the charts, sales of ''Rebirth'' (2005) were generally lower than expected, which lead Lopez to return to studio quickly afterwards. The singer was recording both her fifth and sixth studio album, one in Spanish, and one in English, respectively. While on set of the video from the Spanish album's second single, Lopez defined the English album as "more of what people and my fans are used to -- you know, just kind of a dance, funk, R&B, hip-hop, all that stuff, all mixed up together to make some great pop music." She also teased the first single off the project to be released in the summer of 2007.

In July 2007, " Hold It, Don't Drop It" was announced as the lead single of the project, however two weeks later, "Do It Well" was announced as the album's first single, alongside "Hold It Don't Drop It". Ultimately, only "Do It Well" was released, impacting radio stations in New York and Los Angeles on July 13, 2007, and the rest of the United States stations on August 21, 2007. Different versions of its CD single were issued, one containing "Me Haces Falta" (the last single from her previous album), other having both "Me Haces Falta" and "Como Ama Una Mujer" (the title track from her Spanish album). A remix featuring American rapper Ludacris was also released on both Vinyl single and as a bonus track of '' Brave''.

Composition

"Do It Well" was written and produced by Ryan Tedder, with Leonard Caston, Anita Poree and Frank Wilson receiving writing credits for the sample of Eddie Kendrick's number-one single " Keep on Truckin' (1973). Cory Rooney was responsible for additional vocal production, with instruments and programming being handled by Tedder as well. The song is performed in the key of F minor with a tempo of 108 beats per minute. It is a pop song containing hip hop drum beats and disco sirens at the bridge. In the chorus, she sings to someone who caught her eye: "I ain't ever met a man like that / I ain't ever fell so far, so fast / You can turn me on, throw me off track / Boy you do it, do it / you do it, do it, well".

Critical response

Critics opined favorably over the song, though it received less enthusiastic reviews as well. Chuck Taylor from ''Billboard'' magazine stated that the song is "a satisfying, flamethrowing pop– urban pearl," stating: "Not since ' Waiting for Tonight' has she served up a song with such potential to rally long-term play."Billboard, 2007-08-25. Alex Fletcher from Digital Spy gave to the song 4 out of 5 stars, commenting that "It's brassy, sassy, (although certainly not classy) and it's here to replace Beyoncé's ' Crazy In Love' as everyone's favourite guilty dancefloor pleasure. Caryn Ganz from ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that "the track is her salvation on the album, since is the only track that lets J. Lo do her thing: dance." Nathan S. from "DJ Booth" deemed it as an "ass-shaking masterpiece she's wisely chosen as her first single. The tracks got that "classic" J-Lo feel, huge strings and horns pared over funk-based percussion, with just a dash of Latin flavor thrown in. It is as epic as a song designed for moving in the club can be, even if the song's about two-third's incredible production, one-third J-Lo's singing." Dan Gennoe from Yahoo! Music wrote that the song "may not be prime club material, but they all come with choruses and grooves guaranteed to make the housework go with a swing."

On the other hand, Michael Slezak from ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote a mixed review, writing that "it finds Lopez's voice as tinny and feeble as ever, singing lyrics that may have sounded believable back in the early ’90s days of In Living Color, but now come off as a preposterous attempt to 'keep it real'." But he praised "the melody's as easy as it is catchy (perfect as "Jenny from the Block" for inebriated karaoke), and the beat demands a sumptuous choreographical feast of a video." A writer from Yahoo! Music wrote a negative review, stating that the song "sounds dated and recycled." Eric Henderson from ''Slant Magazine'' wrote that the song "is a fairly imaginative reworking of one of the many string breaks from Eddie Kendricks's "Keep On Truckin'."

Commercial performance

"Do It Well" debuted at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on the week of October 6, 2007. The following week, it climbed one position, cracking the top fifty in its third week. It went on to peak at number 31 on the following week, becoming Lopez's 12th U.S. top 40 single. "Do It Well" has sold 538,000 paid digital downloads in the United States as of June 2013. Elsewhere, the song fared better, reaching the top-twenty in over eleven countries. In the United Kingdom, "Do It Well" debuted at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart week of October 6, 2007, climbing to its peak position, number 11, the following week. It remained at the top-twenty for two other weeks, becoming her seventeenth top-twenty hit.

In Australia, it debuted at its peak position, number 18, becoming her sixteenth top-twenty hit. In Belgium (Wallonia), Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland and Switzerland, the song also reached the top-twenty. It was also a commercial success in both Hungary and Italy, reaching respectively numbers 6 and 2. In Italy, it went on to debut at number 2, becoming Lopez's seventh top-ten hit, remaining at the top ten for other three consecutive weeks.

Music video

On August 8, 2007, it was announced that Lopez will be shooting a video for her new single "Do It Well" in Los Angeles on August 16–17. The video debuted on MTV's '' TRL'' on September 17, 2007, on BET's ''106 & Park'' on September 19, 2007, and at number ten on '' VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown'' on September 22, 2007. It has since climbed to number three on the former and number five on the latter. It premiered on the Indian broadcast of VH1 on October 1, 2007.

The video, directed by David LaChapelle, starts with Lopez walking down a street when she gets a message with a video on her PDA which is an SOS from a little boy captured and forced to work in the kitchen of an S&M nightclub on Union Street. She enters the club, pushing a doorman down the stairs after he questions her. She continues through the crowd, entering rooms looking for witnesses to the boy's whereabouts. She questions people and punches and slaps them to get information. While this is going on, there are scenes of Lopez dancing in a red dress and she does a dance routine in the breakdown. In the end she finally finds the little boy and as they leave another doorman bothers her. Lopez responds by kicking him over the banister. Then she and the little boy leave together.

Live performances

"Do It Well" was heavily promoted with performances of the song occurring during the Good Morning America Summer Concert Series, Late Show with David Letterman, Fashion Rocks 2007, ''Saturday Night Divas'' and Dancing with the Stars. It was also included on her tours Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony en Concierto (2007) and Dance Again World Tour (2012).

Track listing

*12" vinyl
#"Do It Well" (album version) – 3:07
#"Do It Well" (a cappella version) – 3:05
#"Do It Well" (featuring Ludacris) – 3:34
#"Do It Well" (instrumental version) – 3:04

*Walmart CD single
#"Do It Well" – 3:10
#" Waiting for Tonight" – 4:08
#" If You Had My Love" – 4:28
#" Love Don't Cost a Thing" – 3:43
#" Get Right" – 3:48
#" Qué Hiciste" – 4:58

* Ringle single
#"Do It Well" – 3:07
#"Qué Hiciste" (salsa remix) – 4:49
#"Qué Hiciste" ( Tony Moran radio mix) – 4:34

*German basic CD single
#"Do It Well" – 3:07
#" Me Haces Falta" – 3:37

*Australian CD single / German premium CD single
#"Do It Well" – 3:07
#"Me Haces Falta" – 3:37
#"Como Ama una Mujer" – 6:01
#"Me Haces Falta" (video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

See also

* List of number-one dance singles of 2007 (U.S.)

References

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2007 singles
2007 songs
American disco songs
Jennifer Lopez songs
Music videos directed by David LaChapelle
Number-one singles in Turkey
Songs written by Ryan Tedder
Songs written by Frank Wilson (musician)
Song recordings produced by Cory Rooney
Songs written by Leonard Caston Jr.