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"Cater 2 U" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their fifth and final studio album Destiny Fulfilled. 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 filed by singer-songwriter Rickey 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. Both Beyoncé and 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.
"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.
At the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, "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".
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, 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.
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 in the DualDisc edition of #1's and the Japanese edition of the DVD Live in Atlanta. In 2013, it was included on the album Destiny's Child Video Anthology, which contained 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. The video opens with a fast instance of a sun rising in the sky and moves to the girls standing nude together. Each singer is featured in her own desert scene, performing individually during her respective verse; Beyoncé is seen on a diving board next to a swimming pool, Rowland on a deserted road where she dances next to a silver car from which she had previously got out of and Williams on a sun lounger. During the chorus, the group members are seen wearing fishtail evening dresses, performing a choreographed dance routine for the camera, and three males watch them from the side; the men are never filmed in the same shot as Destiny's Child. At the end, each member is seen together with one of their male partners and the video fades away showing the trio nude again as during the beginning.
The music video was shot at Red Rock Canyon State Park in California. While reviewing the video of "Cater 2 U", Rashaun Hall of MTV News felt that " have decided to go au naturale — tastefully, of course". He further concluded that the clip "is all about scenery and the beauty of the trio". In their book, Music Video and the Politics of Representation, Diane Railton and Paul Watson felt that the presence of men "seems utterly superfluous to the video's spectacle of female bodies and female pleasures". They further noted that the video's imagery and performance managed to proceed without a reference to its lyrics and elaborated,
"Indeed, the abstracted emptiness of its desert spaces, the posed tableaux of the women's bodies, and the noticeable lack of attention directed to its male subjects by both the camera and the group, does not simply jar with the lyrical narrative of female subordination but in fact reinforces the image of Destiny's Child as independent women who are in control of their own lives. That is to say, the video (re)establishes an image of women who are in control of their own bodies, their own desires, their relationship with men, and their friendships with women."
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