Rihanna and Drake’s catchy track Work turns 10 as 2016 nostalgia takes over social media

DUBAI: Ten years ago today, Rihanna dropped Work featuring Drake and pop music was never quite the same again. Released in January 2016 as the lead single from ANTI, the track didn’t just dominate the charts, it took over the culture. From its hypnotic dancehall beat to that endlessly catchy “work work work work work” hook, the song became impossible to escape and honestly, no one wanted to.

Work shot straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for nine weeks, making Rihanna the artist with the most No.1 singles in U.S. chart history at the time. The track went on to rule every summer playlist. A decade later, it still sounds just as addictive as it did in 2016.

The song continues to prove it never really stopped working. The track has pulled in over 1.6 billion streams on Spotify, while the official video has surpassed 1.4 billion views on YouTube, solidifying its status as a streaming-era classic.

But the song’s tenth anniversary hits different this year because 2016 is officially having a moment again. From Tumblr-core aesthetics and throwback pop bangers resurfacing on TikTok to 2016 makeup, and chaotic dance music energy creeping back into trends, the internet is clearly craving simpler, louder times.

The 2016 nostalgia surge isn’t just random, it’s a mood. people are craving the messier, louder, more carefree internet of the mid-2010s, before everything got over-curated and ultra-optimized.

Everything from music to fashion is circling back, and “Work” feels like the perfect sonic time capsule for it all. Peak nostalgia is officially back on the timeline and honestly? We’re clocked in.

Article contributed by Saarangi Aji