"Word Up!" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and R&B song originally recorded by American funk band Cameo in 1986. It was released as the first single from their twelfth album, '' Word Up!'' (1986). The song was written by band members

Larry Blackmon Larry Ernest Blackmon (born May 24, 1956) is an American vocalist and musician who gained acclaim as the lead singer and founder frontman of the funk and R&B band Cameo. Musical career Starting the band "East Coast", Blackmon formed the "N ...

and Tomi Jenkins. Its frequent airing on American dance, R&B, and contemporary hit radio, as well as its

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

music video (in which

LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries ''Root ...

appears as a police detective trying to arrest the band), helped the single become the band's best known hit.

Release and reception

"Word Up!" was Cameo's first US

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

hit, peaking at number six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spending three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and one week at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Singles chart. In the United Kingdom, "Word Up" spent ten weeks in the top 40 of the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, peaking at number three on September 21, 1986 – for the week ending date September 27, 1986. Besides being a commercial success, the track also earned critical acclaim from several publications. "Word Up!" won Cameo the Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single as well as the

NME Award The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...

for Best Dance Record. Like the band's previous single "Single Life", "Word Up!" features a reference to the opening notes of

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

's theme to ''

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...

''. "Word Up" was a

colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...

, popular in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and other US urban areas, that acted as an affirmation of what was said — a kind of a more-hip "You Bet." 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."

Impact and legacy

'' Time Out'' listed the song number 54 in their ''The 100 best party songs'' list in 2018. ''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.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Gun version

In the 1990s, "Word Up!" was first covered by Scottish

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, p ...

, whose version carried a harder, more rock-oriented sound, including a guitar solo. Taken from their album '' Swagger'', it was released on July 1, 1994, and peaked number eight on the

. Two versions of the CD single were released in the UK, each carrying different cover art and different tracks.

Charts

Mel B version

"Word Up!" was later covered by British singer

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

of the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

(known as Melanie G at that time, and her only single under that name) from the film soundtrack '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me''. It was released on June 28, 1999, and peaked at number 13 on the

. The single was also included on the Japanese edition of her album ''

Hot Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to: Food and drink *Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality *Hot, a wine tasting descriptor Places * Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand **Hot subdistrict, a sub-district of Hot Distric ...

''.

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming **Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static el ...

sings uncredited background vocals on the track. Brown's bandmate

Emma Bunton Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English singer, songwriter, actress, and media personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice. With over 100 million recor ...

sings background vocals on the B-side, "Sophisticated Lady", with an uncredited rap by Dexter.

Format and track listing

*;Digital download EP #"Word Up" (Radio Edit) – 3:23 #"Sophisticated Lady" – 2:44 #"Word Up" ( Tim's Dance Mix) – 5:32

Charts

Korn version

"Word Up!" by American

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

is a cover of the Cameo song. Its musical arrangements are similar to that of the cover version by

, except it is played in a lower sounding 7 string guitar tuning instead of the standard E. "Word Up!" was the first track featured on Korn's 2004

retrospective album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rele ...

, '' Greatest Hits, Volume 1'', and was one of two new tracks along with

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

's "

Another Brick in the Wall "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera '' The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a chil ...

" 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, whilst making a respectable impression on the mainstream charts of other countries, including Australia (where it debuted at number 28), and Germany (number 46). It is the only Korn single to be sent out to

radio stations, notably receiving airplay on New York City's Z-100, the largest Top 40 station in the US. Lead singer

Jonathan Davis Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD or JDevil, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, who are considered a pioneering act of the ...

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."

Charts

Jan Delay version

In 2007 German singer

Jan Delay Jan Phillip Eißfeldt (born 25 August 1976), known professionally as Jan Delay, is a German rapper and singer whose stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk. An accomplished solo artist, he became known to the public as a ...

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.

Charts

Little Mix version

British girl group

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

released a cover version of the song for

Sport Relief 2014 Sport Relief 2014 is a fundraising event organised by Sport Relief. A number of run-up events took place and the main event consisted of a live telethon broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two from the evening of Friday 21 March 2014 to early the follow ...

, through

Syco Music Syco Music is a defunct division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. Originally founded as S Records, the label launched while Cowell was still employed by BMG, the label oversaw music relea ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. 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 J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

supermarkets. "Word Up" peaked at number six on the

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 A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

'' (2013).

Background and release

Little Mix first announced the single on January 16, 2014, through their official Twitter. The song was first played on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

on January 20, 2014, during

Nick Grimshaw Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), also known as Grimmy, is an English television and former radio presenter, podcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a t ...

's Breakfast show. The cover art of the single was revealed on January 24, 2014.

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. Kevin Kevinpod of DirectLyrics said that " ittle Mix'sharmonies 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. Its production was also likened to

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's single "

Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...

Music video

The shooting for the music video started in early February 2014. The band posted an exclusive picture from the video on February 25, 2014. The video was first shown on the Chart Show TV on February 28, 2014 and was posted on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on March 3, 2014. It features celebrity cameos from

Louie Spence Louie Spence (born 6 April 1969) is an English dancer, choreographer and television personality, best known for the TV show '' Pineapple Dance Studios''. He was a professional dancer in his youth, performing in West End musicals including ''Mi ...

, Louis Smith,

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

Melanie C Melanie Jayne Chisholm (12 January 1974 - 25 December 2022), better known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer-songwriter and media personality. She is best known as one of the five members of the Spice Girls, during which time she was ni ...

and

Chris Barrie Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor, comedian, and impressionist. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show ''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in th ...

. 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 A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end. Barbells range in length from to above , althou ...

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 A stationary bicycle (also known as exercise bicycle, exercise bike, spinning bike, spin bike, or exercycle) is a device used as exercise equipment for indoor cycling. It includes a saddle, pedals, and some form of handlebars arranged as on ...

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

treadmill A treadmill is a device generally used for walking, running, or climbing while staying in the same place. Treadmills were introduced before the development of powered machines to harness the power of animals or humans to do work, often a type of ...

s and fall off them after some time. During the chorus, the scene changes again to the court with the owner (Barrie, who had previously played a gym manager in BBC sitcom ''

The Brittas Empire ''The Brittas Empire'' is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie played titular character Gordon Brittas, the well-intended but hugely incompetent manager of the fictional Whitbury New To ...

'') 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.

Track listings

;Digital download #"Word Up!" – 3:26 ;Digital remixes #"Word Up!" (The Alias Radio Edit) – 3:33 #"Word Up!" (Extended Mix) – 4:59 #"Word Up!" (Instrumental) – 3:05 ;CD single #"Word Up!" – 3:26 #"Word Up!" (The Alias Radio Edit) – 3:33 #"Word Up!" (Extended Mix) – 4:59 #"Word Up!" (Instrumental) – 3:05

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1986 songs 1986 singles 1994 singles 1999 singles 2004 singles 2014 singles Cameo (band) songs Gun (band) songs Korn songs Mel B songs Little Mix songs Songs written by Larry Blackmon Song recordings produced by Timbaland Number-one singles in New Zealand Mercury Records singles Funk songs