Gotta Work

"Gotta Work"
Single by Amerie
from the album Because I Love It
Released November 30, 2006
Format Digital download, CD single, 12" single
Recorded 2006
Genre R&B, funk, go-go
Length 3:10
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Amerie Mi Marie, Rich Shelton, Loren Hill, Kevin Veney, Isaac Hayes, David Porter
Producer(s) One Up
Amerie singles chronology
"Take Control"
(2006)		 "Gotta Work"
(2006)		 "Fly Like Me"
(2007)

"Gotta Work" is a song by American R&B singer-songwriter Amerie, and is the second international single from her third studio album, Because I Love It (2007). It samples Sam & Dave's 1966 song "Hold On, I'm Comin'", written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and originally recorded by Reuben Wilson. The sample used is from a cover version by Erma Franklin, off her album 'Soul Sister' (1969). Amerie called the sound of the song "'go-go soul'", saying go-go "[is] like really strong black coffee, some people can't ingest it in its purest form."[1]

This song is featured at the end of the 2009 action film Fighting.

Music video

The music video was premiered on June 30, 2007;[2] speaking to a reporter for The Sun, Amerie said the inspiration for the video, as with her other videos, came to her when she was showering. "I think it's where all the creative energy flows because at that moment you've got nowhere to go", she said. "You're just standing there with the water".[3]

The video was directed by Scott Franklin.

Critical reception

Blues and Soul Magazine said the song "sounds like it's come from the same factory of hits as most of B's output ... 'Crazy in Love' meets 'One Thing' [sic]", but that it "treads that rare fine ground between club-friendly sing-a-long anthem and credible soulful territory; its bold and brassy orchestral instrumentation and clattering percussion pushing it along nicely. The first single from the new album, Because I Love It and we're loving it."[4] The Village Voice named it the sixth best single of summer 2007.[5] The Daily Mirror wrote, "An old superpowered Stax riff will never let you down and there's a particularly supercharged one at the centre of ["Gotta Work"] ... Amerie sweats and grinds in the funk engine room, whipping up a lather and doing the song she has sampled a service. Get your back into it, just like she does, and the benefits can be instantly felt."[6]

"Gotta Work" was ranked number seventy-one on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.[7]

Track listings and formats

UK CD single
  1. "Gotta Work"
  2. "Gotta Work" (Remix featuring Collie Buddz)
CD single (Premium)
  1. "Gotta Work"
  2. "Gotta Work" (Remix featuring Collie Buddz)
  3. "1 Thing" (Remix featuring Eve)
  4. "Gotta Work" (Video)
UK 12" single[8]
  1. "Gotta Work" (Album Version)
  2. "Gotta Work" (Instrumental Version)
  3. "Gotta Work" (Accapella Version)

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Deutsche Black Charts[9] 6
European Hot 100 Singles[10] 69
Irish Singles Chart[11] 30
Luxembourgian Airplay Chart[12] 41
UK Singles Chart[11] 21
UK R&B Singles Chart[13] 6

References

  1. ↑ Chick, Stevie. "Dancefloor dynamite". The Guardian. May 11, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Video: Amerie - Gotta Work". ConcreteLoop.com. June 30, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Amerie: Ideas come in shower". The Sun Online. July 5, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  4. ↑ Devlin, Mark. "Review - Amerie: Gotta Work". Blues and Soul Magazine. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  5. ↑ Breihan, Tom. "Status Ain't Hood's Quarterly Report: The Summer's Best Singles". The Village Voice. July 3, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  6. ↑ "This week's new singles". Daily Mirror. July 27, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  7. ↑ MTV Asia. "Top 100 Hits List". Retrieved 2007-12-27
  8. ↑ "AMERIE - Gotta Work". Juno Records. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  9. ↑ "Deutsche Black Charts". Deutschen Trend Charts (in German). Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  10. ↑ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Amerie - Gotta Work - Music Charts". αCharts.us. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  12. ↑ "Chartbreaker Top 50". Eldoradio (in Luxembourgish). Retrieved 2008-01-11.
  13. ↑ "UK Top 40 RnB Singles". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 2008-01-11.

External links