There was a school of thought, loudly expressed at the time of the song’s release, that Work was not sufficiently commercial to be a Rihanna single. [...] R&B stars seldom have hits with skeletal dancefloor tracks sung in thick patois, even if they are decorated with a guest verse by Drake. The last time anything like that topped the US charts was a decade ago, when Sean Paul was at the height of his fame. At least one critic opined that Work sounded unfinished.
The critics had a point about how minimal it was – there’s almost nothing to Work beyond a beat, a bassline, a vocal and an extremely subtly deployed interpolation from Alexander O’Neil’s mid-80s Mellow Magic-friendly smoocher If You Were Here Tonight – but otherwise they couldn’t have been more wrong. Work turned out to be 2016’s omnipresent hit: it topped the charts from Brazil to Belgium, its success paving the way for more dancehall-influenced pop hits, including Sia’s Cheap Thrills. It happened because everything about Work clicks: it is perfect pop songwriting that blithely ignores most current trends in pop. There’s no big chorus, but the hook burrows into your brain; the rhythm feels off-kilter but propels everything forward; Rihanna’s performance is coolly restrained but really appealing.
Meanwhile, the lyrics were snappy and smart – “You took my heart off my sleeve” – and there was something really appealing about the way Drake’s cameo appearance played against Rihanna’s vocal. He begs, he pleads, he turns on the charm (“If you had a twin I would still chose you”) and he does that passive-aggressive Drake thing of subtly implying he’s somehow morally superior to his amorata: “Who am I to hold your past against you?” She tells him to get stuffed: “Nuh time to have your lurking.” Given that she’s dealing withR&B’s king of injured feelings, there’s something particularly piquant about the kiss-off: “Me nuh cyar if him hurting.”
Work works perfectly: proof that subtlety trumps glitz, that you don’t need spectacular fireworks if everything already sparks.
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Top 10:
Rihanna – Work
Beyoncé – Formation
Frank Ocean – Ivy
Mitski – Your Best American Girl
Skepta – Man
Kanye West – Famous
Christine and the Queens – iT
David Bowie – Lazarus
Whitney – No Woman
Tegan and Sara – Boyfriend
its success paving the way for more dancehall-influenced pop hits, including Sia’s Cheap Thrills. It happened because everything about Work clicks: it is perfect pop songwriting that blithely ignores most current trends in pop.
When you release a generic ass song but a featured artist saves you.
Nothing about Work was generic. I remember haters dragging it cause they felt like it was an experimental mess or something it's a genre that wasn't on the radio for 10 years, sung in Patois, without a chorus
I'm really starting to think that for all these years,these end-year lists have been rigged. I like "Work" but there is absolutely no way it is the best song released this year
Best thing about Work is it brings Rihanna career full circle. Everyone counted her out, said she wouldn't be successful if she took a break came back and snatched yet another number 1. & she did it with a song that celebrates her Carribbean culture.