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Work from Home (song)

"Work from Home" is a song recorded by American girl group Fifth Harmony, featuring American singer Ty Dolla $ign.[2] The song impacted contemporary hit radio four days after its initial release on March 1, 2016, and was released as the lead single from the group's second studio album, 7/27 (2016).[3] "Work from Home" was written by Daniel Bedingfield, Jude Demorest, Eskeerdo, Brian Lee, Ty Dolla $ign, Ammo, & DallasK[4][5][6] with production from the latter two. The song is primarily an R&B track that incorporates elements of trap music and tropical house beats with lyrics depicting "work" as a euphemism for sex. Many music publications included it in their lists of best songs of the year.[7][8][9][10]

"Work from Home"

February 26, 2016

2015

  • The Northership (Los Angeles)
  • Windmark Recording (Santa Monica, California)
  • The Hide Out Studios (London)

3:34

The song debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100,[11] and reached number four in its thirteenth week,[12] becoming their highest-charting single in the United States; it surpassed "Worth It", which peaked at number 12. "Work from Home" also became the first top-five single in the country by a girl group in ten years, following the September 2006 peak of "Buttons" by The Pussycat Dolls at number three.[13] Among national airplay charts, the song topped both the Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic Songs.[14][15] As of December 2016, the single has sold 1.4 million digital downloads in the United States.[16] The song has achieved multi-platinum certifications in several countries, including quintuple platinum in Canada and the United States. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the song received renewed attention as a result of the increasing adoption and prominence of remote working.[17]


"Work from Home" was accompanied by a music video, directed by Director X and filmed in a construction site of a house. It was released on February 26, 2016, on the group's Vevo channel. The video received commentary from critics over the double entendres in the visuals, which are present in the lyrics as well. The girls are seen interacting with male construction workers and performing choreographed dance routines dressed in construction gear. "Work from Home" won the award for Best Collaboration at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, winning the group their first award in this network.[18] Its music video reached one billion views in October 2016 and became the most viewed music video of 2016.[19]

Composition and lyrical interpretation[edit]

"Work from Home" is a midtempo R&B[1] song with elements of trap music. Katherine St. Asaph of Pitchfork noted elements of Rnbass in its production,[25] while Meaghan Garvey from MTV found tropical house influences on its beats.[26] Discussing the song musically, Chris Martins from Billboard classified it as "a pop-R&B confection that siphons off the a tropically tinted EDM pool."[22] According to the sheet music published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Work from Home" is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 105 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of A major as quintet's voices span the tonal nodes of G3 to F5. "Work from Home" follows a chord progression of Fm–D—A.[27]


According with J.C Pan from The Fader, "Work from Home" uses work as a euphemism for sexual seduction, "rolling out one job-related double entendre after another".[28] In review of the album 7/27, Peter Meister from Sputnikmusic describing the song, wrote, "In the sparkling, sexy "Work from Home", R&B crooner Ty Dolla Sign harmonizes perfectly with the girls amongst brimming, elegant synths that explode and rattle with booming, gritty bass over the demanding of their lover to not go to work but instead, put the "work" at home with her.[29] Its instrumentation, which interpolates the riff of Daniel Bedingfield's 2001 song "Gotta Get Thru This", is complete with electro claps, strong bassline and backed-synth.[10][29]


The song has a typical verse-pre-chorus-chorus structure with a rap bridge done by Ty Dolla Sign before the third chorus and the outro. The song begins with bubbling beat[30] and finger snaps.[31] The first verse is sung by Cabello, the first pre-chorus is sung by Kordei. "I know you're always on the night shift/but I can't stand these nights alone", she sings.[29] Following is the chorus sung by Jauregui, with the word "work" repeated seven times after each line.[32] The second verse is sung by Hernandez who sings: "Let's put it into motion / Imma give you a promotion / I'll make it feel like a vacay / Turn the bed into an ocean".[33] Hansen sings the second pre-chorus. Ty Dolla Sign sings after the second chorus, and on the third and final chorus Cabello, Hansen, and Jauregui close the song with an ad-libbed outro.[27]

Chart performance[edit]

North America[edit]

On the week of March 7, 2016, "Work from Home" debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 88,000 downloads sold, 10 million United States streams and 20 million radio impressions in its first week, marking the group's highest debut and equaling its best rank for "Worth It", which rose to number 12 in August 2015, twenty-three weeks after it was released.[11] The following week, the song fell four spots to number 16.[62] It would then rise three spots to number 13[63] and rise one more spot, to match its debut position for the week dated April 9, 2016.[64] The following week, the song would climb two spots to reach a peak at number 10, earning the group their first and only top 10 single in the United States. Subsequently, they became the first all-female group to chart in the top 10 since "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls peaked at number nine in 2008.[13] It recorded a 6-4 jump on the Digital Songs chart selling 89,000 copies, a 34 percent increase from the previous week. The song also saw an 8-5 jump on Streaming Songs with steams of 14.4 million, a rise of 20 percent and 22-17 leap on the Radio Songs chart, retaining a 49 million audience, a 22 percent increase from the previous week.[65]


For the dated April 23, 2016, the song rose one more spot to number nine, becoming the week's highest airplay gainer retaining an 89 million audience, rising 12 percent from the previous week.[66][67] The song rose two more spots the following week, leaping from 9–7.[68] It would rise one more spot at a new position at number 6. [69] The following week, it fell one spot, after one of Prince's songs entered the top five shortly after his death. The track would rebound a 7-5 leap, earning the group their first top five entry, marking them as the first all-female group to attain this honor since The Pussycat Dolls' “Buttons” with Snoop Dogg song peaked at number three in 2006. For the week marked May 21, 2016, the track boosted an 8 percent climb at radio and a 10.5 million audience impressions and was aided in the climb with 15.9 million weekly United States streams, which were down one percent.[70] The track would fall one spot after Justin Timberlake’s "Can't Stop the Feeling!" made its hot shot debut at number one. It rose one spot for the week marked June 4, 2016 at number 5, retaining its previous peak position. Following a performance of the track on the Billboard Music Awards, the song leaped 5–4, earning the group their highest entry and peak on the chart. For that week, it recorded a 10-7 jump on Digital Songs, selling 73,000 copies, a 26 percent increase and earned the group their first top five hit on Radio Songs, leaping 6–4 with a 105 million audience, rising 5 percent. On the Streaming Songs chart, the track stayed at number 5 with 15.8 million streams, a decrease of 2 percent.[71]


Additionally, on the chart dated May 21, 2016, "Work from Home" topped the Rhythmic Songs chart, leaping a 2-1 spot and becoming the first girl group to achieve that milestone in 15 years, since Destiny's Child crowned the list in 2001 with "Survivor".[15] On the chart dated June 4, 2016, "Work from Home" topped the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 after climbing a 4-1 position, becoming the first Pop Songs number one by a girl group in nearly 10 years since The Pussycat Dolls led for two weeks in September 2006 with “Buttons” featuring Snoop Dogg.[72] The song is also Ty Dolla Sign's second top 40 entry on the Hot 100. "Work from Home" earned the group their best-selling debut week, surpassing "Boss", which debuted with 75,000 downloads in July 2014.[73] In Canada, "Work from Home" debuted at number 18 on the Canadian Hot 100 after its first week of release.[74] On the week dated April 2, 2016, the song rose 18-14 and then rose two more spots on its third week, reaching the peak of its predecessor "Worth It". Two weeks later, the song climbed 12–8, earning the group their first top 10 entry in this market. It rose one more spot the following week and then rose from 7–5, giving Fifth Harmony their first top five entry as well. Eventually, it climbed to number four in its eleventh week.[75] It also became the group's highest-peaking single in Canada, surpassing the peak of its predecessor, which peaked at number 12 in August 2015.[76] Apart from charting in both Canada and the United States, the song entered two Mexican charts, peaking outside the top ten at number 12 and 11, respectively. As of December 2016, the single has sold 1.4 million copies in the United States.[16] In early 2017, the song was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for combined sales and streaming of four million equivalent units.

Europe and Oceania[edit]

In the United Kingdom, "Work from Home" debuted at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart after its first week of release.[77] The following week, it rose 12 spots to reach number eleven. It later rose seven spots to a peak at number four, earning the group their second top ten entry in Britain after "Worth It" peaked number three in July 2015. It rose one spot to number three, where it remained for two consecutive weeks before peaking at number two on the chart behind Mike Posner's "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" during its fifth week, becoming the group's highest-peaking song in Britain, surpassing its predecessor.[78] The song would stay in the top ten for eight additional weeks and in the top 40 for twelve weeks for a total of thirty-seven weeks.


Simultaneously, the song made an appearance in the charts in the Republic of Ireland, earning the group their first top five there. In the Netherlands, the single debuted at number 29 on the Dutch Top 40 after its first week of release. It climbed for the next three weeks, reaching number four in the fourth week and becoming their first top 10 single in the country. It also became the group's highest-peaking single in the Netherlands, surpassing the peak of its predecessor "Worth It", which peaked at number 25 in August 2015. "Work from Home" eventually topped both the Single Top 100 and the Dutch Top 40, becoming the group's first song to top both charts in the country.


Elsewhere in Europe, the song entered the charts in Austria, where it peaked at number nine and charted for twenty-eight weeks. Similar trends followed in Denmark and Latvia, where the song also peaked at number nine. In the Belgian charts, the song peaked within the top 10 in its Flanders and Wallonia category, earning a top five in the Flanders chart. The track also peaked in the top 10 in Czech Republic, making appearances in both of the country's two main charts. In Germany and Norway, the song peaked at seven and six, respectively and charted for fifteen and twenty-six weeks. "Work from Home" earned a top five in countries such as Spain and Poland, charting for 18 weeks in the Spanish charts. In its digital track component, the song peaked in the top 10 in Slovakia. It also achieved top 10 peaks in Switzerland and the Scandinavian countries of Sweden and Norway, where it also became their highest-charting song in said countries. The song was certified platinum in Denmark, double platinum in countries including Belgium, Italy, Poland, Spain, quadruple platinum in Sweden and Diamond in France, where the single sold a quarter of a million copies.


In Australia, "Work from Home" debuted at number 39 on the ARIA Charts after its first week of release.[79] It climbed to number three in the fourth week, becoming their second top ten and first top five single in the country.[80][81] The song stayed in the charts for nearly thirty weeks. Since its release, the song has been certified quintuple platinum and has also become one of the best-selling songs by an all-female group there. A similar trend followed in New Zealand where the song debuted at number 21 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart after its first week of release.[82] It climbed to number two in the fifth week, becoming the group's first top-five single in the country.[83] "Work from Home" also became the group's highest-peaking single in New Zealand, surpassing "Miss Movin' On", which peaked at number 27 in July 2013.[84] On April 15, 2016, it became their first number-one single in the country.[85] The single was certified double platinum, becoming the group's best-selling song, after "Worth It" was certified platinum.

Music video[edit]

Background and development[edit]

The music video, directed by Director X, was released on February 26, 2016.[86] Speaking on the video's concept, X said that he wanted to incorporate the theme of "work" but "with a different approach." Initially, the setting was going to be in a "corporate office" but the idea was not executed as the group previously released "Worth It" in that same setting. Other ideas included a condominium construction set. He noted the reverse gender roles where the men are "the objects" as "opposed to the other way around" and the many interpretations of work, which he says aided in the song's success.[87]


The video earned the group their third Vevo certification, reaching over 100 million views on March 31, 2016, and becoming one of the fastest videos to reach this milestone. It became the fourth most viewed music video of 2016 and is the site's 38th-most-viewed video. It remains the most viewed music video by a girl group followed by "Worth It". As of May 2022, the video has surpassed 2.5 billion views.[88] It won Best Collaboration on the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, and also won in the "Song of the Year" category at the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards.

Recorded at The Northership () and Windmark Recording (Santa Monica, California)

Los Angeles

Mixed at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center ()

Atlanta, Georgia

Mastered at The Mastering Place ()

New York City

Credits adapted from 7/27's liner notes.[113]


Recording


Management


Personnel

List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2016

List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)

List of UK R&B Singles Chart number ones of 2016

List of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles in 2016

List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2016

List of Billboard Rhythmic number-one songs of the 2010s

on YouTube

Behind the Scenes of "Work from Home"