"Cater 2 U" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their fifth and final studio album Destiny Fulfilled (2004). The song was written by group members Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams along with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Ricky "Ric Rude" Lewis and Robert Waller, with Beyoncé, Rude and Jerkins handling its production. An R&B ballad talking about a woman's desire to cater to the male love interest of her life, "Cater 2 U" contains synthesizers in its instrumentation. A lawsuit filled by singer-songwriter Ricky Allen in 2006 claimed the group only recorded a cover of the song, which was originally his; however, the case was settled in 2009.
"Cater 2 U" was released as the fourth and final single from Destiny Fulfilled on June 7, 2005, by Columbia Records and Sony Urban Music. It received mixed reviews from music critics who, despite generally praising its composition and the group members' vocal performances, criticized the lyrical content. The song was nominated in two categories at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006) and received an award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo at the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards. Commercially, it peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jake Nava and filmed at the Red Rock Canyon State Park in California. It features the trio at a desert, with each member singing at a separate set and later a choreographed dance during the chorus. To further promote "Cater 2 U", Destiny's Child performed the song during several televised appearances and at the 2005 BET Awards. In addition, "Cater 2 U" was added to the set list of Destiny's Child's final tour Destiny Fulfilled... and Lovin' It (2005). Both Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland performed the song during their solo tours after Destiny's Child's disbandment. A cover version of "Cater 2 U" was performed by Usher and Babyface at the 2005 World Music Awards as a tribute to the group, due to their disbandment.
Writing and production "Cater 2 U" was written by Destiny's Child members Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, along with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Ricky "Ric Rude" Lewis and Robert Waller. The production was handled by Beyoncé, Rude and Jerkins, with the group members also serving as the vocal producers. The song was recorded in 2004 at Sony Music Studios in New York City with guidance from Jeff Villanueva and Jim Caruna. The audio mixing was done by Tony Maserati while the mastering was finished by Tom Coyne.
Music and lyrics
"Cater 2 U" is a four-minute long R&B ballad. According to the sheet music published on the website Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Cater 2 U" was composed using common time in the key of D major with a slow tempo of 63 beats per minute. The vocal elements span from A3 to B4. Instrumentally it consists of silky synthesizers "slink[ing] and slurp[ing]" throughout, creating a seductive feel as stated by Dimitri Ehlrich of Vibe and writers of Billboard magazine. As the song progresses, it builds to a symphonic crescendo.
Lyrically, "Cater 2 U" talks about females wanting to submissively serve their male love interests and take care of them as they admire their hard work and are inspired by them. The trio further sings about the men of their lives and the way in which they will take care of them. "Cater 2 U" was written as a continuation on the previous song on Destiny Fulfilled, "Soldier"; after the trio sings about finding a suitable lover in the aforementioned song, they express a will to cater to him in "Cater 2 U". In the second edition of the book Introducing Cultural Studies, the authors argued that the song contained lyrics about objectification of women, which suggested that their gender role was to "'keep herself up', 'keep it right', 'cater to' their man by providing him with his dinner, a foot rub, a manicure, fetching his slippers, and much more, on demand". An editor writing in The Times of India found a theme of feminine assertiveness in "Cater 2 U"; he noted that "the women come off not so much as lovers as full-service romantic servants". J. Freedom du Lac, a staff writer of The Washington Post wrote that the song's theme was supplication.
Beyoncé opens the song listing the things she would do for her man during her verses: brush his hair, take his shoes off, give him a manicure, rub his feet, help him put his do-rag on, undo his cufflinks. She also sings the lines "Let me feed you, let me run your bath water, whatever you desire" after the things she had previously listed. Rowland was noted for nearly rapping her solo part during which she promises to "keep my figure right," "keep my hair fixed" and acknowledges that if her man comes later home while she's asleep, "all he's gotta do is tap her on the shoulder and 'I'll roll over.'" Williams sings her solo verses during the song's bridge.
During an interview with MTV News, Beyoncé spoke about the meaning of the song: "It basically talks about how a guy inspires you... You want to make him happy and you want to cater to him. I know it's going to be surprising to a lot of people that the independent survivors are being submissive to their man, but it's important that people know that, you know, it's fine if your man deserves it and gives that back to you."
Critical reception
Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly noted the song was one of Destiny Fulfilleds "nice bits here and there", adding, "the pillow-talky pandering of 'Cater 2 U' ... is hard to resist." AllMusic's writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine included "Cater 2 U" as one of the highlights on the album. Slant Magazine writer Eric Henderson opined: "But just about the only element of the whole album that really sticks is the Laura Bush-worthy domestic complacency of 'Cater 2 U,' in which the trio espouses their joy in total submission." Dimitri Ehrlich from Vibe found that "the sexy trio is far more believable on the seductive R&B ballad 'Cater 2 U,' in which they set the feminist movement back more than a century over the course of four minutes". Andy Battaglia writing for The A.V. Club felt that the song and "Soldier" "make sassy end-runs around notions of womanly subservience, but their best musical moments hide in tiny melismatic twirls instead of hooks". The Guardians Caroline Sullivan wrote that "Cater 2 U" was one of the songs that showcased "the girliness in the trio, musically and lyrically". In a review of Love Songs (2013), Amanda Koellner from the website Consequence of Sound described "Cater 2 U" as a "sleek" album opener. Thomas Inskeep of Stylus Magazine hailed the song "sexy" while USA Todays Elysa Gardner felt it was more "gently sensuous". Rebecca Thomas from MTV News felt that the song differentiated from the trio's other material and added: "While the Third Wave set may have side-eyed the gushy ballad, male fans eagerly welcomed [it]".
The lyrics of the song were criticized with BBC's Nick Reynolds saying that although the group "reinvent[ed] themselves as domestic goddesses for some lucky man", the song was neither convincing nor good. He further opined "I thought they were supposed to be independent women?!", juxtaposing it with the group's earlier song "Independent Women Part I" (2000). Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone echoed his statements, writing: "Jerkins should hang his head in shame for having a hand in the maudlin 'Cater 2 U,' a saccharine tune about how low Knowles, Rowland and Williams will stoop to prove their devotion to their man ... Since when did these independent women become so craven?". Sean Fennessey of Pitchfork Media also stated that "their swan song of sorts ... completely defies the winking empowerment most of their greatest jams provided". He further described the production as "milky and slight", the chorus as "limp" and the song overally as "a Prince mock-up of the worst kind". Jess Harvell of the same website offered similar criticism: "[The song] reneged on everything early DC stood for in a parade of kept-wifey pleas". Alex MacPherson of Stylus Magazine dismissed the sincerity of the lyrics, classifying "Cater 2 U" as a "queasy" song. Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph panned it as "cringe inducing, with lots of sensuous moaning". Barbara Ellen of The Observer wrote: "I thought this was the kind of song bands recorded by mistake then hid guiltily in the attic".
At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards (2006), "Cater 2 U" was nominated in two categories, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, ultimately losing in both. The song won an award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo at the 2006 Soul Train Music Awards. It was one of the Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at the 2006 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. In 2013, Lindsey Weber from the website Vulture listed "Cater 2 U" at number seven on her list of the 25 best songs by Destiny's Child. Weber went on to describe it as "probably the least feminist song" of the band's material, but "the best song ever to lyrically use the phrase 'run your bathwater'" and hailed Williams for her contribution during the bridge. For Beyoncé's 32nd birthday, Erika Ramirez and Jason Lipshutz of Billboard included "Cater 2 U" at number 25 on the list "Beyonce's 30 Biggest Billboard Hits".
Commercial performance In the United States, the song debuted at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated April 30, 2005. In its fifth week, it ascended to number 83 on May 28. After several weeks of ascending the chart, "Cater 2 U" peaked at number 14 for the week ending August 13. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the song entered the top ten at number six in its 19th week, on July 9. It became the group's fourth top-ten single from Destiny Fulfilled and the group's 12th top-ten song overall. On the chart issue dated July 30, "Cater 2 U" climbed from number four to number three, which became its peak, and stayed there for three additional consecutive weeks. It became the second single from Destiny Fulfilled and the group's seventh overall top-five single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single gold on December 13, for sales of 500,000 digital copies in the US, while its mastertone was certified platinum on June 14, 2006, for selling 1,000,000 copies.
In the Netherlands, "Cater 2 U" debuted and peaked at number 60 on September 17, 2005. On October 1, "Cater 2 U" debuted at number 20 on the Ultratip chart in the Flanders region of Belgium and moved to its peak position at number 18 the following week, before falling off the chart. It performed better on the same chart in Wallonia, where it peaked at number eight on October 22. In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number 15 on the ARIA Singles Chart on August 21, and spent six weeks within the chart's top 50. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Cater 2 U" debuted at number seven on August 29. It fell to number nine the following week and started gradually descending the chart, last appearing on October 10 at number 40 after seven weeks of charting.
Music video The accompanying music video for "Cater 2 U" was directed by Jake Nava. It was filmed back-to-back with the video for "Girl" and large parts were filmed at Red Rock Canyon State Park in California. On July 5, 2005, the music video was released via MTV's official website. It was also included on the DualDisc edition of #1's (2005) and the Japanese edition of the DVD Live in Atlanta (2006). In 2013, it was included on the album Destiny's Child Video Anthology, which contained nearly every music video the group had filmed during their career; an image taken from the video of "Cater 2 U" was used as the cover artwork for the DVD.