Peak
36
Weeks
8
Score
571
Chart Year
2011
Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am debuted this ode to going hard on October 6, 2011 at a gig in London. The track features Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger whilst Pop singer Jennifer Lopez croons the hook. The song was produced by Jimmy Iovine, Audiobot, Dallas Austin and will.i.am. Back in the 1980s Iovine helmed albums for the likes of U2, Bruce Springsteen and Dire Straits. However, after founding Interscope Records in 1990 he took a back seat from twiddling the knobs and this was the first song he'd contributed to the production for decades. Will.i.am debuted the song at the November 20, 2011 American Music Awards at the Nokia Theater with Lopez also performing live whilst Jagger performed on video. Will.i.am originally presented the track to Iovine without featured artists as a finished work and was surprised when the label head requested that he add performers to the song. "I went to play material for the label and Jimmy Iovine's like, 'Yo, this is dope. Who are you gonna put on it?,'" he recalled to Rolling Stone. "I'm like, 'What are you talking about? It's finished, it's me.' So, he's like, 'Oh, you don't feature no one?'" Thinking quickly, will.i.am threw out a name that he thought would never happen "So I think of the hardest thing ever. And it happened, Mick Jagger. I just wanted to throw something out there that I thought could never be possible so they would stop asking me." The song marked Jagger's first solo top 40 entry on the Hot 100 since "Let's Work" peaked at #39 in 1987. After persuading Mick Jagger to appear on this song, Jimmy Iovine told will.i.am that he'd never worked with the Rolling Stones frontman before. The Black Eyed Peas leader recalled to The Boombox: "Jimmy was like, 'When I was younger I wanted to be Mick Jagger. What A Tribe Called Quest is to you, that was Mick for me.' We are talking about someone who has produced everyone and their mom from John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen. So I asked Jimmy, 'Why don't you produce Mick's vocals?' When was the last time Jimmy produced? I was like, 'Let me bring you out of retirement.'"
You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home Oh my goodness, this beat is so hard Oh my goodness, this beat is so hard I'ma go hard, hard to the core Hard like motherfuckin' liquid swords Harder than worldwide stadium tours I am the future, delorian doors Will he survive? Never deceased I don't think I'm ever gonna rest in peace I'ma kill the game, leave the rest in pieces Now everybody want my recipe Tell a jealous chicken I don't know what the beef is I'm just making money for my grankids' nieces I'ma work hard, that's my basis This beat is a shit, feces Pardon me ma'am, I'ma go dumb Small.i.am, I'm complicated, hard.I.am I end the beginning, then start it again You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home Oh my goodness, this beat is so hard Oh my goodness, this beat is so hard You can get that, or you can get this You can call it demon, I'ma call it Jesus You can get a curse, you can get a cross You can go to work, or you can be the boss I'ma be the owner, be a thought Donor I'ma go hard, like a motherfuckin" boner I'ma make a beat to put the people in a coma You can be a geek or be a rolling stoner I woke up in the morning, Hard like morning wood in the morning Woke up thinking about microphoning E.T. own the mic phone the homeland I wait out like NASA, I'm way over here I done past ya I get stacks of cash, you get cashews, I go hard, statues Uh, you can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home Now let me take this time to say I don't wanna lead you on You can go hard or you can go home Well I, I know it is a lot to take I don't wanna lead you on You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard Wait a minute, I'ma make it a little harder I'ma make it a little harder Give it to you a little harder This is hard, hard like a rock n roll Time bombs's ticking, explode Baby, this is dynamo Better move back now, it's bout to blow Hard like Geometry, and Trigonometry This is crazy, psychology Get it baby, I'm about to win Watch out now, I'm going in You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard or you can go home You can go hard
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 10, 2011 | 36 | 90 |
| 2 | Dec 17, 2011 | 90 | 36 |
| 6 | Jan 14, 2012 | 90 | 36 |
| 7 | Jan 21, 2012 | 62 | 64 |
| 8 | Jan 28, 2012 | 64 | 62 |
| 9 | Feb 4, 2012 | 73 | 53 |
| 10 | Feb 11, 2012 | 61 | 65 |
| 11 | Feb 18, 2012 | 86 | 40 |