Word Up! (song)

"Word Up!" is a funk and R&B song originally recorded by American funk band Cameo in 1986. It was released by Atlanta Artists, Mercury and PolyGram as the first single from their thirteenth album of the same name (1986). The song was written by band members Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins, and produced by Blackmon. 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), 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).

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 ''Billboard'' R&B chart and one week at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Singles chart. John Leland in Spin described it as 'an undiluted rocker'.

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.

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 for Best Dance Record. Like the band's previous single "Single Life", "Word Up!" features a reference to the opening notes of Ennio Morricone's theme to ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''.

Cameo were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.

"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".

Blackmon said of the song:

Influence 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

Certifications

Gun version

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

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''Music Week'' gave the Gun-cover four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, saying, "Many rock songs are turned into dance records, but this is a rare example of a song making the reverse journey, being the Glasgow rock band's cover of Cameo's funk outing from 1986. Already used as the playout for '' TOTP'', it works perfectly in its new setting." Pan-European magazine ''Music & Media'' wrote, "A good song is half the work. Admit it, with this Cameo oldie, nobody could go wrong. But the Scottish artillery deserves due credit for the guts to cover the funker in a hard rock way." 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, saying, "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!"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Mel B version

"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. 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; 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.

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!" 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. "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, 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 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."

Charts

Jan Delay version

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.

Charts

Little Mix version

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.

"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. The song was first played on BBC Radio 1 on January 20, 2014, during Nick Grimshaw'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's single "Black Cat."

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 Chart Show TV on February 28, 2014 and was posted on Vevo on March 3, 2014. It features celebrity cameos from Nick Grimshaw, Louie Spence, Louis Smith, Arlene Phillips, Melanie C and Chris Barrie.

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.

Track listing

;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

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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 rock songs