"Check on It" is a song by American R&B singer Beyoncé
Knowles, featuring American rapper Slim Thug. It was written by
Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Sean Garrett, Angela
Beyincé and Stayve Thomas, and produced by Knowles and Swizz
Beatz for the 2006 film
The Pink Panther, in which Knowles co-stars. Although
not included on its soundtrack album, the song is included on
Destiny's Child's greatest hits album
#1'sand on selected non-U.S. versions of Knowles' second
solo studio album,
B'Day.
Knowles said that the song started out as a joke, and that
the title "Check on It" was jokingly used with her and her
management before they decided to turn it into a song. However,
the song's lyrics bluntly talks about a woman's booty.
"Check on It" was released on Knowles' former group
Destiny's Child's greatest hits,
#1's'. It was not originally intended for release as a
single from the album
#1's. However, it received heavy rotation in US radio
stations than the first single, "Stand Up for Love". Because of
this, "Check on It" debuted on the Hot 100 in late 2005. A
remix of the song was made, which features fellow Houston
artist Bun B.
"Check on It" reached number one on the Hot 100 in its
twelfth week on the chart, becoming Knowles' third number-one
as a solo artist and Slim Thug's first. The single remained at
number-one for five consecutive weeks, tying Canadian singer
Daniel Powter's 2005 single "Bad Day" for the longest-running
number-one single in 2006. It was certified platinum by the
RIAA for net shipment of 800,000 paid downloads. "Check on It"
achieved crossover success, peaking at number one on the
Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Dance Club Play charts, and at number
three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It also reached
number one on the Pop 100, becoming Knowles' first entry on the
chart. It was the eighth most played song of 2006 on the radio,
being played 290,231 times.
It became Knowles' fifth top-twenty hit in Canada in late
2005, and in February 2006 the song climbed to number twenty on
the Canadian BDS airplay chart for a second time. The song
reached the top five in Norway and the Netherlands, the top ten
in Europe, Switzerland, Austria and Brazil, and the top twenty
in Germany and Sweden. In the UK the song debuted at number
four before rising to number three the week later, selling
122,500 copies.
When demand was growing for the song, Knowles shot a music
video serving as promotion for both
#1'sand
The Pink Panther. The video was directed by Hype
Williams, and was premiered on December 16, 2005. The remix of
the song in the music video features a remix of "The Pink
Panther Theme" and a rap from Bun B. "Check on It" won on
August 31, 2006 the 2006 MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B
Video.
The video has a pink theme to fit in with
The Pink Panther. Knowles is shown in mostly all pink,
and the dancers wear PVC jackets and dance around rippling
satin sheets. The video also features Knowles bending over and
grabbing her behind. The video cuts to Knowles wearing a polka
dot corset against a hot magenta polka dot wall, wearing a pink
wig and pink lipstick. Where black bars normally appear on a
4:3 (full screen) television showing a widescreen production,
footage is displayed of curtains moving in the background. This
was a trend in Hype Williams' videos during that year.
The video was featured on the DVD of the film.