Twerk

Album: Bad Decisions (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This single from Young Money artist Lil Twist's debut studio album Bad Decisions was produced by Maejor Ali and Chef Tone. It has the collaboration of Canadian singer Justin Bieber and twerkaholic Miley Cyrus, who sings "I came up in this party time to twerk, twerk."

    The track conveniently leaked three days after Miley's controversial twerking performance at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 25, 2013.
  • The definition of twerk, according to the ODO, is: "verb, dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance." Its origin is listed as "1990s: probably an alteration of 'work.'"

    The Head of US Dictionaries, Katherine Connor Martin, told MTV News that twerking came out of the Bounce music scene in New Orleans. "The first example that we know of is in a DJ Jubilee track called 'Do the Jubilee All' from 1993," she said.
  • Twist has been wanting to hook up with Cyrus since 2011, when he made his love for her known on Twitter. "I need a little @MileyCyrus in my life," he tweeted, "see if she can get addicted to this YMCMB lifestyle... ill talk care of u baby lol."
  • The song was originally written by Justin Bieber as part of his "music journal," a collection of tunes the Canadian singer was penning during his Believe tour for a potential project. After a conversation over dinner with Lil' Twist at the Japanese restaurant Nobu, Justin decided that the track would be better served in the hands of his friend. "He was doing 'Twerk' for 'Journals' with him and Miley," the rapper explained to MTV News, "and then once me and him had a conversation over dinner it was like, 'Yo bro, I think this should be your single and we should go with it.'"

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