Ready for the Weekend (song)

The song features guest vocals by British singer Mary Pearce, who previously worked as a backing vocalist for Beverley Knight, Lionel Richie and Chaka Khan.^[1][2] Remixes by High Contrast, Fake Blood and Dave Spoon were also announced.^[2] It made its world debut on 12 June 2009 with Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1.^[3] On 13 July 2009 it was featured as the Song of the Day on Popjustice.^[4] Harris performed the song at the iTunes Festival '09 on 18 July 2009 in London.^[5]

Commercially, "Ready for the Weekend" reached number one on the United Kingdom Dance Singles Charts, and reached number three on the official singles charts in the country. It finished 2009 as the 98th best selling single of the year in the United Kingdom.^[6] In addition to this, the song also peaked at number three in his native Scotland,^[7] as well as within the top ten in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands. In the United States, it peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay charts.^[8]

It was later certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in the United Kingdom, indicating sales in excess of 200,000 copies,^[9] and certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), indicating sales in excess of 35,000 copies in Australia.^[10]

The music video for the song was directed by Ben Ib^[11] and premiered on the British channel T4 on 4 July 2009 at 11:00 am.^[12] FHM model Lauren Pope and dancer Funda Önal make an appearance in the video.^[12] Several dancing females appear wearing red leotards to match Harris' magic portal, shirt and furniture. They next "change into blue and yellow zip-up bathing suits, expanding the palette and multiplying endlessly, just in time for the weekend."^[13]

On 23 July 2009, it was reported that the video was removed from YouTube due to a copyright claim from another party. Harris stated that he was upset it had occurred and believed that the British Phonographic Industry had prompted the removal.^[14] On 14 December 2010, the video was re-uploaded on Harris' official channel.