"Word Up!" is a funk and R&B song originally recorded by American funk band Cameo in 1986. It was released as the first single from their thirteenth album of the same name. The song was written by band members Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins. Its frequent airing on American dance, R&B, and contemporary hit radio, as well as its MTV music video (in which LeVar Burton appears as a police detective trying to arrest the band),[4] helped the single become the band's best known hit.
The song is in A major with a metronome of 112 BPM, but the chorus shifts to F-sharp minor (the relative minor key of A major).[5]
Release and reception
"Word Up!" was Cameo's first US Top 40 hit, peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending three weeks at number one on the BillboardR&B chart[6] and one week at number one on the BillboardHot Dance Singles chart. John Leland in Spin described it as 'an undiluted rocker'.[7]
In the United Kingdom, "Word Up!" spent ten weeks in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number three on September 21, 1986 – for the week ending date September 27, 1986.
"Word Up" was a colloquialism, popular in New York City and other US urban areas, that acted as an affirmation of what was said—a kind of a more-hip "You Bet".[citation needed]
Blackmon said of the song:
It just sounded good, and it was before its time. You can play "Word Up" anyplace anywhere, and someone is going to be grooving and bobbing their head. Our sound was unique, as well. I haven't heard another one like it, and we probably won't hear another one like it in the future. It was that significant for us.[8]
Impact and legacy
Time Out listed the song number 54 in their The 100 best party songs list in 2018.[9]
"Word Up!" has been covered numerous times by other artists. It is an easy song to sing, being riff-based and having a simple vocal melody.[10]
In the 1990s, "Word Up!" was first covered by Scottish hard rock band Gun, whose version carried a harder, more rock-oriented sound, including a guitar solo.[citation needed] Taken from their third album, Swagger (1994), it was released on July 1, 1994 by A&M Records, and peaked number eight on the UK Singles Chart.[34] Two versions of the CD single were released in the UK, each carrying different cover art and different tracks.[35]
Critical reception
Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave Gun's version of "Word Up" a full score of five out of five and named it Best New Single, writing, "Very much in the Stiltskin vain, Gun won't have a better chance of having a big hit. It's also one of those songs that should get the grandads moaning about the noise. Wahey!"[36]
"Word Up" was covered by British singer Melanie "Mel B" Brown of the Spice Girls—known as Melanie G at that time (and her only single under that name), as she was married to one of the Spice Girls's "Spice Boy" dancers, Jimmy Gulzar—as part of the film soundtrack to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Produced by Timbaland, the song was released in the UK and Europe on 28 June 1999, and peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was also included on the Japanese edition of Melanie’s album Hot. Static sings uncredited background vocals on the track.[48] Brown's bandmate Emma Bunton sings background vocals on the B-side "Sophisticated Lady", with an uncredited rap by Dexter.
Two music videos were created for the song: One live-action, which features Verne Troyer (the Mini-Me actor in the Austin Powers films) and was predominantly filmed with the use of green screen, and another that takes places in a black-and-white, highly animated and complex world, entirely digitally animated. In the former, Melanie's character is part evil queen, part dominatrix, her style drawing comparisons to Grace Jones. However, some of the imagery in the video was deemed to be too dark and sexually suggestive, as well as scary, for minors to be exposed to;[by whom?] one scene, for example, portrayed Melanie lying down nude, with a heart covering her private area. Another shows Verne Troyer "polishing" her buttocks like a window-cleaner. Near the end of the video, a child can be seen wearing a dress with the word "Phagocyte" on it. Overall, it was the heavy and potentially scary fantasy imagery that garnered a second version to be made, featuring Melanie in a blue-metallic setting wearing shining, gem-like outfits. The original video was then limited to being played only after-midnight on MTV Europe and MTV UK, among other networks.
"Word Up!" was covered by American nu metal band Korn. Its musical arrangements are similar to that of the cover version by Gun, except it is played in a lower sounding 7 string guitar tuning instead of the standard E.[citation needed] "Word Up!" was the first track featured on Korn's 2004 retrospective album, Greatest Hits, Volume 1, and was one of two new tracks along with Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" that was exclusive to the album (the "Word Up!" CD single also featured a live performance of the latter).
Background and release
It was released as the album's first single in July 2004, and received heavy airplay on alternative radio at its time of release, peaking in the top 20 of both Billboard charts,[56] whilst making a respectable impression on the mainstream charts of other countries, including Australia (where it debuted at number 28),[57] and Germany (number 46).[58] It is the only Korn single to be sent out to Top 40 radio stations, notably receiving airplay on New York City's Z-100, the largest Top 40 station in the US. Lead singer Jonathan Davis has said of the band's decision to include the song on their greatest hits, "We've been doing 'Word Up!' for years as a sound-check song—not the full version, just messing around with the riff."[59]
In 2007 German singer Jan Delay recorded a mashup of the music from "Word Up!" with the lyrics of Das Bo's "Türlich, Türlich (Sicher, Dicker)". The new song was titled "Türlich Türlich (Word Up)" and was a hit in German-speaking countries.
British girl group Little Mix released a cover version of the song for Sport Relief 2014, through Syco Music and Columbia Records. It was released digitally on March 16, 2014, followed by a physical release the following day, which was only available to purchase from Sainsbury's supermarkets.[75]
"Word Up!" peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top twenty in Ireland. The song also charted in Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Czech Republic, and Japan. It has been certified gold in Brazil. The single is also included on the expanded edition of the group's second studio album Salute (2013).
Background and release
Little Mix first announced the single on January 16, 2014, through their official Twitter.[75][76] The song was first played on BBC Radio 1 on January 20, 2014, during Nick Grimshaw's Breakfast show.[77]
The cover art of the single was revealed on January 24, 2014.[78]
Critical reception
The song received mostly positive reviews with Popjustice ranking it as third for the best version of the song and third for the best Sport Relief single and gave the song 7 out of 10 stars.[79] Kevin Kevinpod of DirectLyrics said that "[Little Mix's] harmonies are spot-on, and the whole record is pure fire." and that the song is a chance of the band getting a number one hit.[80] Its production was also likened to Janet Jackson's single "Black Cat."[81]
The video starts off with the band in a changing room of a gym. As they walk out of the changing room, Jade tries to pick up a barbell pretending that she cannot lift it but then she lifts it up and walks away carrying it. Perrie then walks along four women who are working out while Jade is on a stationary bicycle among three other women, following the instructions of a trainer. With the bicycle, Jade starts going forward with the rest following her at the back.
The scene then switches to a court with the band exercising and dancing the same time along with other people while singing the chorus of the song. Afterwards, Leigh-Anne is stood in front of some athletes with one using her as a barbell at the end of her part. Jesy continues with her part while dancing in front of two men working out on treadmills and fall off them after some time. During the chorus, the scene changes again to the court with the manager (Barrie, who had previously played leisure centre manager Gordon Brittas in BBC sitcom The Brittas Empire) of the gym seeing the girls and the rest dancing and runs upset out of his office. As he is going down to the court, he sees the athletes in the swimming pool shaping out the title of the song. When he reaches the court, he starts dancing with them.
^Jonathan Buckley; Mark Ellingham (1996). Rough Guides Ltd (ed.). Rock: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. ISBN978-1858282015. "Word Up" was funk's last stand before it was completely swallowed up by hip-hop culture.
^"Word Up – CAMEO". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 8
^"Mel B ARIA chart history complete". ARIA. Retrieved July 20, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
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