"Work It" is a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and embarked on his musical career in 1993 as a member of the Midwest hip hop g ...

featuring American singer-songwriter

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

. It was released on February 24, 2003, as the fourth single from Nelly's 2002 album, ''

Nellyville ''Nellyville'' is the second studio album by American rapper Nelly. It was released on June 25, 2002, by Universal Records and Fo' Reel Entertainment. The album's production was handled by Waiel Yaghnam, the Neptunes, Jay E, Trackboyz, Ryan ...

''. It peaked at number 68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number seven on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Tom Sinclair of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' panned the collaboration, stating that the song was one of the weaker tracks in ''

'' despite the inclusion of

Dele Fadele Ayodele Fadele (8 August 1962 – March 2018) was an English musician and music journalist who was active from the mid-1980s. He wrote for the ''NME'' in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and was one of the first music critics to introduce then eme ...

of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described it as a "silly pop-directed collaboration with Justin Timberlake of *N Sync." Writing for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'', Wayne Franklin noted that Timberlake croons on the song.

Commercial performance

"Work It" peaked at number 68 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the March 13, 2004, issue of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', charting for five weeks. It also peaked at number seven on the UK Singles Chart on March 15, 2003, spending 11 weeks on the chart.

Music video

The music video for "Work It" shows Justin and Nelly visiting the

Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner, who lived there from 1971 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby H ...

where they play tennis and meet many of the

Playboy Playmate A Playmate is a female Model (person), model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biograph ...

Hugh Hefner Hugh Marston Hefner (April 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American magazine publisher. He was the founder and editor-in-chief of ''Playboy'' magazine, a publication with revealing photographs and articles. Hefner extended the ''Playboy ...

also makes an appearance. It was directed by Joseph Kahn and released in 2003.

Track listings

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compa ...

UK remix CD single European CD single Canadian CD single

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Other versions and in popular culture

The song was remixed by

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. Storch began his career as part of Philadelphia-based hip hop band the Roots, which he joined as a keyboardist prior to the release of their 1993 debut a ...

and was included on Nelly's 2003 remix album '' Da Derrty Versions: The Reinvention''. Another remix by

Jason Nevins Jason Nevins (born December 15, 1972) is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of " It's Like That" by Ameri ...

sampled

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

's 1980 single "

Back in Black ''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980, by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature Brian Johnson as lead singer, following the death of the ...

", which received considerable airplay, but was not officially released. The "Nevins Universal Dub" remix was played in the viral internet sensation clip of

Robin Schreiber Robin Schreiber (born ), better known as Dance Cam Mom or Sweater Mom, is an American superfan of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A Warriors season ticket holder since the late 1980s, she dances at home ...

dancing at the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

basketball game on November 9, 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Work It (Nelly Song) 2002 songs 2003 singles Justin Timberlake songs Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Nelly songs Universal Records singles Songs written by Nelly Songs written by Justin Timberlake Songs written by Jay E