"Do It" is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her third studio album, Loose (2006). It was written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate Hills. It was produced by Timbaland and Nate "Danja" Hills. The song features a prominent influence of 1980s dance music and sexually suggestive lyrics, in which the song's protagonist asks a lover to satisfy her sexually.
"Do It" reached the top twenty in Canada and was a number-one dance hit in the United States, where it became Furtado's lowest peaking single on the Billboard Hot 100.
The music video for "Do It" was directed by Aaron A. (the documentarian on Furtado's Get Loose Tour), and co-directed by Furtado. It was shot on location in Detroit. The video was premiered on MuchMusic on July 13, 2007, and on MTV's Total Request Live on August 1, 2007.
In January 2007, it was revealed that Timbaland plagiarized the synth line in "Do It" from an earlier track by Finnish demoscener Janne Suni and Glenn Rune Gallefoss.
Composition
Furtado has credited the influence of 1980s musicians such as Blondie, Madonna, the Police, Prince and Talking Heads on Loose, saying that the album's creative team "were picking up on some of the more surreal, theatrical elements of '80s music, the stuff that puts you in sort of a dream state. There's a mysterious, after-midnight vibe to this album that's extremely visceral. I want people to escape into the music and indulge their most animalistic impulses." Referring to the sexually suggestive lyrics in "Do It" and other songs on Loose, Furtado cited the influence of what she described as "the assertive female sexuality of '90s hip-hop, from Queen Latifah to MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, Salt-N-Pepa, TLC. They were sexy, smart and creative—strong women in control. That's what I like about the sexual content on Loose: It's very organic."
The melody, chord progression and other elements were taken from the track "Acidjazzed Evening" by Janne Suni.
Critical reception
Billboard magazine said "[it] again demonstrates Furtado's striking versatility [...] Missy Elliott is stripped onto the single version, with a midsection breakdown . . . amusing, but hardly necessary in scoring yet another essential moment from [Loose]". Stylus magazine cited the track and "No Hay Igual" as the album's "undisputed highlights [...] The two songs couldn't possibly be more different, yet the duo [Furtado and Timbaland] manages to convincingly pull off both of them." Slant Magazine said the song is "a deliciously uptempo 80's cut", and The Guardian wrote that Furtado "delivers irresistible hooks of Maneater, Promiscuous and Do It with punchy, playful charisma rather than breathy cooing." Blogcritics published a more negative assessment of the song: