"Check on It" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriterBeyoncé. It was written by her,Swizz Beatz,Sean Garrett,Angela Beyincé andSlim Thug, and produced by Swizz Beatz. Serving as the main theme of the 2006 filmThe Pink Panther, in which Beyonce co-starred as Xania, it was supposed to be featured on the film'ssoundtrack. As it was ultimately not included on the soundtrack, the version with additional vocals from Slim Thug was placed on the 2005Destiny's Child's greatest hits album#1's.Columbia Records released a remix version of "Check on It" featuring both Slim Thug andBun B as the second single from#1's on October 11, 2005.
"Check on It" is anR&B andhip hop song, which is instrumentally complete with a heavybassline,strings, andwind instrument. The song consists of twoverse-raps by Slim Thug. "Check on It" was mostly well received by music critics, who complimented the arrangement and the vocal deliveries.
"Check on It" was not originally intended as a single from#1's. However, it received some rotation on US radio stations, after the release of the first single "Stand Up for Love" (2005), which failed to chart on theBillboard Hot 100. Eventually, "Check on It" was released as a single; it debuted on the US Hot 100 in November 2005. The song peaked at number one for five consecutive weeks, becoming one of the two longest-running number-one singles of 2006, and Beyoncé's credited third US number-one single. Internationally, it reached number one in New Zealand and the top ten in Canada and several European countries.
"Check on It" was written by Beyoncé,Slim Thug, Angela Beyincé andSean Garrett. Production was handled bySwizz Beatz, who also co-wrote the song.[4] Matt Hennessy, Dave Pensado, and Dexter Simmons mixed "Check on It" with assistance from Geoffrey Rice, and Matt Serrecchio.[5] Beyoncé said that the song's title, "Check on It", was a phrase that she and her management jokingly used several times before they decided to turn it into a song.[6] Originally recorded by Beyoncé only, the song was supposed to be included on the track-listing of thesoundtrack album for the remake ofThe Pink Panther (2006), starringSteve Martin,Kevin Kline and Beyoncé.[7] However, it was never used for thesoundtrack album at the last minute,[8] and the song with added vocals from Slim Thug,[9] was then added on Beyoncé's former groupDestiny's Child's greatest hits,#1's (2005).[10] "Check on It" was nevertheless played duringThe Pink Panther's end credits and used in TV spots to promote the film.[10]
"Check on It" was not originally intended for release as asingle from the album#1's. However, it received heavyrotation from USradio stations after the release of the first single "Stand Up for Love" (2005), which recorded by all members ofDestiny's Child was a commercial failure.[7] Meanwhile, "Check on It" debuted on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart in November 2005, that is, before its official release as it had amassed considerable listener impressions.[11] A remix of the song featuring hip-hop rapperBun B was recorded prior to its release.[12] The task of remixing the song was undertaken by Maurice Joshua with further assistance from Junior Vasquez who helped in its production.[5]
"Check on It" was firstdigitally released in the US on December 13, 2005.[13] In the United Kingdom, a CD single was issued on January 16, 2006.[14] "Check on It" was never released in Australia but charted as a digital track. The song was included as a bonus track on the deluxe edition of Beyoncé's second studio album,B'Day in European countries on April 3, 2007.[15] Though the song was a commercial success worldwide, Beyoncé has revealed that she dislikes the song.[6] She has explained that she was surprised at the commercial reception of "Check on It" as according to her, it is too simple, and not catchy like some of her previous singles.[6]
"Check on It" is amidtempoR&B andhip hop song,[7] which makes use of a heavybassline,[16]strings,wind instrument,[17] and frequent "swinging pelvic taunts".[18] According to the sheet music published bySony/ATV Music Publishing at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in thekey ofG major and is set incommon time at 166beats per minute. Beyoncé's vocal range spans from the low noteA3 to the high noteB4.[19] According to Bill Lamb ofAbout.com, Beyoncé adopts smooth and alluring vocals throughout "Check on It".[7] Lyrically, the song takes place in a dance club, where the female protagonist is letting the male patrons know that they are welcome to come and look at her body when she is dancing.[18] "Check on It" starts with averse-rap from Slim Thug: "Good girls gotta get down with them gangstas / Go head girl put some back and some neck up on it..."[18] The rapper sounds like a 1975Mercury Cougar turning over as he growls in his burly purr, as written by Bret McCabe ofBaltimore City Paper.[18]
In the firstverse, Beyoncé sings to the "sexual teasing" lyrics, which are addressed to the men looking at her: "I can be a tease, but I really wanna please you [...] Oohhh you watchin[g] me shake it, Ya can't take it, it’s blazin[g] ...".[7][16] Thechorus lines; "Dip it, pop it, twerk it, stop it, check on me tonight" are sung in a very quick and breathless manner by Beyoncé.[18] Bret McCabe noted that her pace could be compared to that of R&B singerDonna Summer.[18] Slim Thug appears again after the second verse to perform another different verse rap: "I’m checking on you boo, do what’chu do / And while you dance I’ma glance at this beautiful view / I’m keep my hands in my pants, I need to glue ’em with glue ...".[18] Before the song ends, Beyoncé repeats the chorus lines four times as additional vocals of hers are played in the background.[18]
Music critics received the song positively, complimenting Beyoncé's vocal performance, and the easiness as well as the confidence she displays while singing her lyrics. A reviewer from the UK websiteContactmusic.com described "Check on It" as a "booty shaking anthem" and complimented Beyoncé for switching to a club song after "Stand Up for Love".[16] Bret McCabe ofBaltimore City Paper noted that the song is "less a DC joint than a Beyoncé sex-kitten solo". He praised the lyrics of the song and the easiness with which Beyoncé sings, highlighting her "million-selling R&B pipes".[18] James Blake ofBBC Music wrote that the lyrics are pleasantly aggressive and critical of women.[20]
Jaime Gill ofYahoo! Music described "Check on It" as "sinuously brilliant".[21] James Anthony of the British newspaperThe Guardian wrote that the song "espouses a blissful disregard for traditional songwriting conventions. No Hova (Jay-Z) this time, but Houston rapperSlim Thug's lazy southern drawl suits the fractionally slower tempo."[22] In the July 2006 issued copy ofSpin magazine, Nick Duerden ranked the song at the seventh place on his list of The ten Beyoncé tracks you need to download, writing that "Check on It" is Beyoncé's sexiest song to date.[23] "Check on It" was nominated in for Best Duet/Collaboration at the 2006BET Awards,[24] and for the Best Rap/Hip Hop Dance Track at the 200722nd Annual International Dance Music Awards in 2007.[25] It also received aBroadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Award for "Award-Winning Song".[26]
"Check on It" debuted at number 72 on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart issue dated November 19, 2005.[11] After 12 weeks on the chart, the song received the airplay gainer title, and reached number one on the Hot 100 chart issue dated February 4, 2006, becoming Beyoncé's third Hot 100 number-one as a solo artist and Slim Thug's first Hot 100 single.[27] For the same week ending, "Check on It" was also at the top of the USHot Digital Songs and the USPop 100 charts.[27] The single remained at number-one for on the Hot 100 chart for five consecutive weeks before being unseated by "You're Beautiful" byJames Blunt.[28] tying Beyoncé withJennifer Lopez for having her first three number-one Hot 100 singles stay on top for five weeks or more.[29] "Check on It" also tied with Canadian singerDaniel Powter's single "Bad Day" for the longest-running number-one single in 2006.[30] "Check on It" spent a total of 28 weeks on the Hot 100.
"Check on It" debuted at number four on theUK Singles Chart on January 28, 2006.[37] The following week, it peaked at number three and charted for 12 weeks in the top 75 positions of the UK Singles Chart.[38] "Check on It" debuted at number 35 on theNew Zealand Singles Chart on January 30, 2006,[39] and reached number one for two consecutive weeks.[40][41] In mainland Europe, "Check on It" reached the top five in Norway and the Netherlands, the top 10 in Switzerland, Denmark, and Austria, and the top 20 in Germany and Sweden.[42]
When demand was growing for the song, Beyoncé decided to make amusic video for it, serving as promotion for both#1's andThe Pink Panther.[6] It was directed byHype Williams.[3] The version of "Check on It" used in the clip features a remix of "The Pink Panther Theme" and a verse-rap from Bun B.[6] The video premiered on December 12, 2005, onBET, and was included on the DVD ofThe Pink Panther.[6] The video was shot in 12 hours and features Beyoncé in 12 different set-ups and outfits.[6] It incorporates 1950s influences.[43] Hype Williams told Margeaux Watson ofEntertainment Weekly that the concept was to make everything pink to brand the relationship withThe Pink Panther. He added that the pink sails reflect the wind instrument sound of the string section.[17] Speaking about the video toBET, Beyoncé said:
['Check on It'] is so fun, it makes you feel like a child again and we wanted to put some of that in the choreography and the feel of the video. It's all about checking on yourself and making sure you're moving tight and your man admiring how you move. It's simple."[43]
In the video, Beyoncé is seen mostly in all pink, and the dancers wear PVC jackets and dance around rippling satin sheets. She occasionally bends over and grabs her behind. The video cuts to Beyoncé wearing a polka dot corset against a hot pink polka-dotted wall, wearing a pink wig and pink lipstick. Where black bars normally appear on a4:3 (full screen) television showing awidescreen production, footage is displayed of curtains moving in the background. This was a trend in the videos directed by Williams during that year, with the effect being used inNe-Yo's 2006 single "So Sick" andJamie Foxx's 2005 single "Unpredictable".[3] "Check on It" won theBest R&B Video at the2006 MTV Video Music Awards.[44] It was also nominated for Video of the Year at the 2006 BET Awards.[24]
Although Beyoncé did not perform "Check on It" on televised appearances, it was a part of herset list onThe Beyoncé Experience at theStaples Center in Los Angeles andI Am... World Tour during various stops.[45][46] In Los Angeles, Beyoncé performed segments of the song, dressed in a golden, translucent slip and golden, sparkling panties. It was executed without backup dancers or live instrumentation, only backup singers toward the performance's conclusion.[47] When Beyoncé performed the song inSunrise, Florida on June 29, 2009, she was wearing a glittery, golden leotard. As she sang, animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club equipment were projected behind Beyoncé, her dancers and musicians.[48] "Check on It" was subsequently included as the sixteenth track and the twentieth track on her live albumsThe Beyoncé Experience Live (2007),[49] andI Am... World Tour (2010) respectively.[50] Beyoncé also performed the song as part of her acclaimedperformance at Coachella in April 2018.
^"I Am...World Tour" (in Dutch). iTunes Store (Belgium). Apple Inc. November 26, 2010.Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. RetrievedJanuary 7, 2011.
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