Gotta Work
| "Gotta Work" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Amerie | ||||
| from the album Because I Love It | ||||
| Released | April 14, 2007 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Amerie Mi Marie, Rich Shelton, Loren Hill, Kevin Veney, Isaac Hayes, David Porter | |||
| Producer(s) | One Up | |||
| Amerie singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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.
The music video was premiered on June 30, 2007.[2] The video was directed by Scott Franklin.
Critical reception[edit]
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."[3] The Village Voice named it the sixth best single of summer 2007.[4] 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."[5]
"Gotta Work" was ranked number seventy-one on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.[6]
"Gotta Work was used as the closing credits for ITV F1's 2007 Formula One montage.
Track listings and formats[edit]
- UK CD single
- "Gotta Work"
- "Gotta Work" (Remix featuring Collie Buddz)
- CD single (Premium)
- "Gotta Work"
- "Gotta Work" (Remix featuring Collie Buddz)
- "1 Thing" (Remix featuring Eve)
- "Gotta Work" (Video)
- UK 12" single[7]
- "Gotta Work" (Album Version)
- "Gotta Work" (Instrumental Version)
Charts[edit]
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[8] | 69 |
| Germany (Deutsche Black Charts)[9] | 6 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[10] | 30 |
| Scotland (OCC)[11] | 19 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[12] | 21 |
| UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[13] | 6 |
References[edit]
- ^ Chick, Stevie. "Dancefloor dynamite". The Guardian. May 11, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ "Video: Amerie - Gotta Work" Archived 2007-08-25 at the Wayback Machine. ConcreteLoop.com. June 30, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ Devlin, Mark. "Review - Amerie: Gotta Work" Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Blues and Soul Magazine. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ Breihan, Tom. "Status Ain't Hood's Quarterly Report: The Summer's Best Singles". The Village Voice. July 3, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ "This week's new singles". Daily Mirror. July 27, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ MTV Asia. "Top 100 Hits List" Archived 2007-12-22 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2007-12-27
- ^ "AMERIE - Gotta Work". Juno Records. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Retrieved January 11, 2008.
- ^ "Deutsche Black Charts – Die Jahrescharts 2007" (in German). Deutschen Trend Charts. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Amerie". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Amerie: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
- ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
