Released July 1, 2015 Recorded 2015 Length 3:08 | Format Digital download Genre Pop | |
Label Chase
Cash Money
Republic | ||
"Dirty Work" is a song by American pop singer Austin Mahone. The song was released in the United States as a digital download on July 1, 2015. It was written and produced by The Monsters and the Strangerz, with additional songwriting from Mahone, Sean Douglas and Talay Riley. From 2016, Japanese comedian Blouson Chiemi started to use the song for performance and she gained a big attention from popularity, which finally led this song to peak on the Japan Hot 100 Chart at number 8.
Contents
Background and release
In late June, Austin revealed the "Dirty Work" single artwork on Twitter, and announced that it would be released to iTunes on July 10, 2015. It was premiered on radio the next day, and given an early iTunes release on July 1, 2015.
On November 17, 2015, Mahone released a "Dirty Work" remix featuring T-Pain for free on his official SoundCloud page.
Composition
"Dirty Work" is a modern dance-pop track with heavy bass, synthesizers and a club ready tune which draws clear influence from the genres of funk and R&B. The song is a "bouncy, funky jam" that Mahone describes as having "a Bruno Mars / "Uptown Funk" type of vibe."
Critical reception
The song received positive reviews. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard called it Mahone's "best and most ambitious single to date". Mike Wass of Idolator called it a 'retro-leaning banger' and likened it to hits by Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake, while Fuse's Jeff Benjamin wrote "At times the guitars sound a bit like the ones in Michael Jackson's "Black or White." Mahone stated in an interview with WiLD 94.9 that the video would be in black and white. However, Mahone later re-shot the video with an entirely new concept, and this original version of the video was never released.
In early July, Mahone filmed a second video for the song, inspired by the TV series The Office. This version of the video was released on July 27, 2015. In it, Mahone plays the office heart-throb, who is pursuing the sexy new girl. It includes a cast of fellow workers, who goof around and dance with Mahone throughout the video, with The Office style interviews to camera inter-cut throughout.