Cater 2 U

"Cater 2 U"
Song

"Cater 2 U" is a song by American R&B trio Destiny's Child. It was written by band members Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and Rodney Jerkins, Ricky "Ric Rude" Lewis, Robert Waller for their fourth studio Destiny Fulfilled (2004). It was produced by Knowles, Rude and Jerkins and released as the album's fourth and final single in summer 2005, while the song peaked at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. "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". It is also the band's last high-charting single.

Music video

The music video for "Cater 2 U" was directed by Jake Nava and was 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.

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.

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.” - www.garywithdatea.ning.com

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.

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Chart	15
Dutch Top 40	47
New Zealand Singles Chart	4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	14
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	3

Credits and personnel

• Lead vocals: Beyoncé Knowles (1 verse), 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

Formats and tracklistings

• US CD single

1. "Cater 2 U" (Storch Remix Edit)
2. "Cater 2 U" (Storch Remix)
3. "Cater 2 U" (Storch Remix Instrumental)
4. "Cater 2 U" (Album Version)
5. "Cater 2 U" (Joshua Remix)
6. "Cater 2 U" (Grizz to the Club)
7. "Cater 2 U" (Acappella)

• Maxi CD single

1. "Cater 2 U" (Album Version)
2. "Cater 2 U" (Storch Remix Edit)
3. "Cater 2 U" (Grizz to the Club)
4. "Cater 2 U" (J. Beck Dance Remix)
5. "Girl" (Maurice Joshua "U Go Girl' Remix)

Official versions

• "Cater 2 U" (Grizz To The Club)
• "Cater 2 U" (George Mena & Franke Estevez Dance Mix)
• "Cater 2 U" (J. Beck Dance Edit)
• "Cater 2 U" (J. Beck Club Mix)
• "Cater 2 U" (Dr. Octavo Shoestring Mix)
• "Cater 2 U" (Dr. Octavo Crew Body'n'Soul Mix)

• "Cater 2 U" (Scott Storch Remix)
• "Cater 2 U" (Scott Storch Remix) (feat Arceo)
• "Cater 2 U" (Scott Storch Remix Radio Edit)
• "Cater 2 U" (Scott Storch Remix Instrumental)
• "Cater 2 U" (Scott Storch Remix Lead Vocals)
• "Cater 2 U" (Joshua Remix)
• "Cater 2 U" (Chad Jack Remix)

References

Controversy: http://garywithdatea.ning.com/profiles/blogs/destinys-child-settles-lawsuit