The Way I Are

The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 3,000,000 units in the United States. It became Timbaland's second solo single to reach the top five in the country as well as his second longest-running single there, behind "Apologize". Internationally, "The Way I Are" reached number one in several countries including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, the song reached the top five in several other countries, including Austria, France, Germany, and New Zealand.


The accompanying music video was directed by Shane Drake and takes place in a dark alley-like area in Salford, England. The extended version, which was used in the music video, also features Timbaland's brother Sebastian and rapper D.O.E., who both contribute an extra verse after the bridge. The director noted that the influence of making the video came from the sound of the song and used the rhythm and beats to add effects to make the video have an edgy appeal. "The Way I Are" received a nomination for Monster Single of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards, as well as a nomination under the Producer of the Year (Non-Classical), listed with other songs produced by Timbaland and released during 2007, at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

Critical reception[edit]

Critics found the song to share similarities with works by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake, who has worked with Timbaland on numerous occasions, from his second studio album FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006). Mike Schiller of PopMatters compared the synthesizers on the song to those utilized in Timberlake's single "My Love" (2006),^[13] which both him and Timbaland share songwriting and production credits. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine felt the same way, describing the synth line as "booming" and "futuristic".^[14] Norman Meyers of Prefix compared the song to Timberlake's "SexyBack".^[8] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Magazine described the song as "'Push It' gone trance".^[15]


Norman Meyers of Prefix took a liking to the song, stating it and "Release" (featuring Justin Timberlake) as "successful tracks".^[8] Luke Bainbridge of The Observer also shared interest in the track, labeling it along with "Release" and "Bounce" as "standout tracks",^[12] while Andy Kellman of AllMusic did the same with the song along with three other songs from the Shock Value album.^[16] Daniel Incognito of Sputnikmusic praised the song's structure, writing "The pulsating synth melody throughout the song is as irresistible as its My Love counterpart, and a sure fire way to get everybody on the dance floor." Incognito also fell in favor of the vocals provided by Timbaland's protégé, Keri Hilson, writing "Her plush R&B vocals fit into Timbaland's construction perfectly, never allowing the strong melody to dominate her vocals, but instead matching it in terms of lure."^[17] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork Magazine describes the song as a "straight up jaw-dropper."^[15] Nathan S. of DJBooth.net labeled it, along with three other songs from the album, as recipes for success while noting that they sounded "safe" compared to the rest of the album.^[18]


Ivan Rott of About.com was less enthusiastic of the song, deeming it mediocre and stating that it was "veering off into a no-man's land of repetitive synth-heavy electronica".^[9] Andrea Park of The Online Gargoyle shared the same thoughts in her review of the album, stating that "The flat quality of this album was most apparent in the five songs with accompanying female vocalists."^[19] "The Way I Are" received a nomination at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for "Monster Single of the Year" along with nine other musicians, but lost to Rihanna's "Umbrella".^[20][21] Timbaland also received a nomination at the 2008 Grammys for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) for his work on this song and many others released during 2007.^[22] On December 11, 2007, Apple released the lists of iTunes' top 10 most-downloaded albums and songs of 2007 and "The Way I Are" was revealed to be the ninth best selling single on iTunes.^[23] Vibe Magazine listed "The Way I Are" as the thirty-third best song of 2007, commenting that "the true genius is spotlighting ingénue Keri Hilson".^[5]

Chart performance[edit]

In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 78 on the issue dated June 16, 2007.^[24] After ten weeks of ascending the chart, it peaked at number three on the issue dated August 25, 2007, after an increase in airplay, becoming the week's greatest airplay gainer.^[25] The song stayed on the position for four non-consecutive weeks.^[26] "The Way I Are" reached the summit of the U.S. Billboard Pop Songs on the issue dated September 15, 2007, and stayed there for three consecutive weeks.^[27] The song ranked 18th on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart for 2007 as well as ranking number four on the 2000s decade on the Pop Songs chart compiled by Billboard.^[28][29] According to Nielsen SoundScan, the song has sold over 3,000,000 copies in the United States as of April 4, 2012.^[30] On the issue dated June 2, 2007, the song debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 44.^[31][32] In it sixth week on the chart, it moved into the top ten region at number seven and, after weeks of ascending the chart, reached the top position, where it lasted for three weeks.^[32] It was present on the chart for a total of 52 weeks, becoming Timbaland's second-longest-running single in the country, only behind "Apologize" with OneRepublic (61 weeks).^[32]


In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart on July 1, 2007 ― for the week ending date July 7, 2007.^[33] On July 29, 2007 ― for the week ending date August 4, 2007 ― it ascended to the top of the chart, ending Rihanna and Jay Z's ten-week reign at the summit with "Umbrella" and becoming Timbaland's second chart-topping song in Britain following "Give It to Me".^[34] It maintained the top position for two weeks and became his second longest-running single there (36 weeks), behind "Apologize" (42 weeks) and ahead of "Give It to Me" (26 weeks).^[32] The week it remained at number one followed one of the closest chart races in history; "The Way I Are" was just 16 copies ahead of Kate Nash's "Foundations",^[35] with the two songs selling 33,578 and 33,562 copies, resepectively.^[36]


In Ireland, "The Way I Are" peaked at number one on the Irish Singles Chart and held that position for five consecutive weeks.^[32][37] It was present within the top ten for sixteen weeks and lasted a total of 30 weeks on the chart.^[32]


In Denmark, "The Way I Are" entered the Danish Singles Chart at number five as the highest debut of the week.^[38] The following week it rose to number one where it maintained that position for ten consecutive weeks, becoming Timbaland's most successful single in the country as well as highest selling song there, receiving the certification of triple platinum.^[38][39]


In Australia, after ascending the chart following its debut at number five, the track peaked at number one on the Australian Singles Chart for two weeks.^[40] It was later certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) denoting sales of 70,000 units.^[41]


In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 38 on the New Zealand Singles Chart on the week ending June 11, 2007. It quickly ascended into the top ten and reached a peak of number two on the issue dated July 23, 2007. It was certified gold on August 20, 2007, by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) denoting shipments of 7,500 units.^[42]