Cater 2 U
| "Cater 2 U" | ||||
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| Single by Destiny's Child | ||||
| from the album Destiny Fulfilled | ||||
| Released | June 14, 2005 (See release history) |
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| Format | CD single, 12", download | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | R&B | |||
| Length | 4:07 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Rodney Jerkins, Beyoncé Knowles, Ricky Lewis, Kelly Rowland, Robert Waller, Michelle Williams | |||
| Producer | Rodney Jerkins, Ric Rude | |||
| Destiny's Child singles chronology | ||||
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"Cater 2 U" is a song by American recording trio Destiny's Child, taken from their fourth studio Destiny Fulfilled (2004). It was written by band members Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Ricky "Ric Rude" Lewis and Robert Waller, with Knowles, Rude and Jerkins all handling its production. An ode to both love and men, the contemporary R&B ballad describes a woman's desire to cater to the man of her life.
The song was released as the album's fourth and final single in the third quarter of 2005 and became the band's last top ten entry prior to their disbandment the same year, peaking at number seven in New Zealand. In addition, "Cater 2 U" reached the top twenty in Australia and on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Critics complemented the production, particularly prasining the group's individual vocal performances, but criticized its lyrics. "Cater 2 U" was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
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[edit] Controversy
During their last album Destiny Fulfilled singer/songwriter Rickey Allen pushed allegations that their 2004 song "Cater 2 U" was inspired by a track he had composed with the same title, which was copyrighted in the mid-1990s. He claimed he handed over a version to producer Maurice Joshua, who allegedly went on to cover the song with the three divas. Joshua still says he never held a copy of Allen’s song. Allen filed suit against Destiny’s Child for compensation in a Chicago, Illinois court in 2006 and the three stars were due to appear before a judge Thursday (December 10) to give their testimonies. But the trio managed to avoid any given court dates after their public split in 2005 and agreed to settle behind closed doors.
Allen’s attorney, Matthew Wildermuth, says, “I can confirm that yes, [the case] did settle. All of the issues have been amicably resolved and the case is going to be dismissed. [Allen is] excited about being able to devote time to posturing his musical career. All legal terms and agreement will not be released and the case will be dismissed by a judge Thursday.”
[edit] Critical reception
Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly noted the song one of the "nice bits here and there [on the album]," writing that "the pillow-talky pandering of "Cater 2 U" — which finds Beyoncé promising to pamper her man by 'help[ing] put your do rag on' — is hard to resist."[1] Zohar Lazar from Vibe found that "the sexy trio is far more believable on the seductive R&B ballad "Cater Z U," in which they set the feminist movement back more than a century over the course of four minutes. Silky synthesizers slink and slurp while the ladies take turns moaning about how they want to submissively serve their man."[2]
[edit] Chart performance
As the fourth single released from Destiny Fulfilled, "Cater 2 U" was not expected to perform as well as the album's lead singles "Lose My Breath" and "Soldier". However, it managed to surpass the success of "Girl" but failed to chart within the top 10 with a peak position of number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, "Cater 2 U" failed to find much interest on the U.S. Pop charts, and did not appear on either the Top 40 Mainstream or the Pop 100 Airplay charts.
In the UK, "Cater 2 U" topped the video airplay charts, but failed to gain much radio play, and the single was cancelled. In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number 15 and lasted just under seven weeks in the Top 50.
[edit] Music video
The music video for "Cater 2 U" was directed by Jake Nava. It was shot back to back with the video for "Girl" and filmed in large part at Red Rock Canyon State Park in California. The edited video first aired on MTV United States in the week of March 14, 2005.
The video generally focuses on scenery and beauty shots, including scenes where the trio is shown wearing absolutely nothing. Each singer is featured in her own desert scene, with Knowles on a diving board, Williams in a lounge chair and Rowland on a deserted road. The video climaxes with a group performance and dance routine that ends in the threesome standing side by side.[3]
The editing and camera work includes a lot of fast cutting and sweeping shots. The shoot was covered on MTV's Making The Video and spawned two different versions, containing some different shots and angles, but this version was only shown once on TRL as the world premiere.
The music video is featured on the DualDisc edition of the album #1's as well as on the Japanese version of the DVD Destiny's Child: Live in Atlanta.
[edit] Credits and personnel
- Lead vocals: Beyoncé Knowles (1 verse, ad-libs), Kelly Rowland (1 verse) and Michelle Williams (1 verse)
- Vocal production: Beyoncé Knowles and Kelly Rowland
- Recorded by: Jeff Villanueva and Jim Caruna at Sony Music Studios, NYC
- Audio mixing: Tony Maserati
- Mastered by: Tom Coyne
- Guitar by: Tim Stewart
[edit] Formats and tracklistings
These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Cater 2 U."
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[edit] Charts
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[4] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[5] | 60 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[6] | 7 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 14 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[8] | 3 |
[edit] Release history
| Country | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States[9] | June 14, 2005 | Dance mixes EP |
| United States[9] | July 19, 2005 | Remix EP |
| Italy[10] | July 25, 2005 | EP |
[edit] References
- ^ Sinclair, Tom (2004-11-26). "Destiny Fulfilled (2004)". Entertainment Weekly. EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,784896,00.html. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
- ^ Lazar, Zohar (2005-01-01). "Destiny's Child Refuses To Play It Cookie-Cutter Safe". Vibe. Google Books. http://books.google.de/books?id=7iYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT19&dq=%22DESTINY+FULFILLED%22+%22CATER+2+U%22&hl=de&ei=Cj40TpLsJsn0-gbVnomDDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22DESTINY%20FULFILLED%22%20%22CATER%202%20U%22&f=false. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
- ^ Hall, Rashaun (2005-02-14). "Destiny's Child Get Naked And Get Revenge In New Videos". MTV News. VH1.com. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1496865/02112005/id_0.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Destiny's Child – Cater 2 U". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Destiny's Child search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ "Charts.org.nz – Destiny's Child – Cater 2 U". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
- ^ "Destiny's Child Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Destiny's Child. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ "Destiny's Child Album & Song Chart History" Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Destiny's Child. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ a b "Cater 2 U (Dance Mixes) - EP". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/cater-2-u-dance-mixes-ep/id159353471. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
- ^ "Cater 2 U - Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/it/album/cater-2-u-ep/id357018079. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
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