We connected. There was a real healing thing that happened. Between the three of us – me, Timbaland and JT – we’ve all had long careers with ups and downs and to me personally, doing this song together feels very authentic and is a mini-miracle.

It started with Tim and JT. Tim texted me like, ‘Yo, I’ve got a track for you, it’s a dance vibe, for a trio,’ and I was like, ‘You mean with JT?’ And he was like, ‘Yes.’ "

Him and JT have been working on music for like a year already, separately from me, so they just had an idea and they wanted me to woman the ship a little in my direction so they could feed off that. We just cooked it up. I think energetically it’s very positive. For me, the lyrics and everything are very real to me right now. – Nelly Furtado

I don’t know what it was, but this song is special. I hope it stays up to everything that the people want. If people want the 2006 back, I think we did it justice. I think we gave it a song with meaning. Meaning, it can relate to you or your friends. ‘I keep going up, if you keep going up.’ Like no matter what you go through, Imma be here for you. You know what I’m saying? And that’s what that song is. It has all different meanings, and you still dance to it. You still jam to it. That’s why this song is one of the best of my lifetime. It feels like ‘We Are The World.’

All this happened was like it was a sign. That’s what I’m saying. Everything flowed. The energy was transferable. Justin, he didn’t know his schedule. This is last minute. This is all like happening in real time, like he’s like on a plane listening to it. He’s like ‘Whoa, this is it.’ I’m the disruption that comes in when we come together. The pot gonna stir a little bit and I’m gonna know what direction to go when it comes to music. And I think this is what we have. This [“Keep Going Up”] sets you up for everything JT and Nelly about to do.

This song will age just as well as my other songs aged. I want to create just a little window of nostalgia for this generation just to understand what greatness is. I feel like “Keep Going Up is the song that loosens up the party, and make you have a drink. – Timbaland

I was on a call with one of the [Beatclub] members and they played this song that had this infectious hook. I said, ‘That’s it!’ I didn’t know what it was but I knew that was it. I was walking around like, ‘Ooh! What if it was me, Justin and Nelly?’ So, while I was on the call, Nelly texted me about something. I said, ‘I was just about to text you about a song that I think we should do.’ She was like, ‘When? Where? I’m there.’ [Justin] texted me like, ‘We can get to LA – I got to do my part. That magic that we both have in the room – I know that Nelly got that with me and Justin had the same type of energy with me and him. After that and the song was done, [I said that] I want to put it out in two weeks or a week. Everybody knew it was an urgent record. All of us were on the same page and here we are. The energy was so great. We created magic. This was no frustration [to make] – this was pure energy and love.

[The song has] a message for the world but you jam to it, too. It’s very rare you make records that have a meaning and can play in the club. What people tell me about the record, it feels new and yesterday. I was like, ‘Perfect!’ What I wanted to give to the world is that feeling. Tone is everything to me and for me, that tone back then was an innocence. To go in a booth now, you’re thinking, but we went in the booth [for ‘Keep Going Up’] not even thinking. That’s why this song is the essence of 2006 bottled up. […] We just tapped into something that we should’ve tapped into a long time ago. This song sparked off so much of an energy that life ain’t promised to us, so let’s not sit on an idea – let’s just to do it. – Timbaland

Furtado calls “Keep Going Up” a “continuation of the conversation” of “Give It To Me,” one that reframes success as relative to one’s own personal journey, rather than an unfriendly commercial competition. To put it simply, the song “feels like a musical hug. We’ve moved beyond the diss track,” she says. “It’s lighter on the diss, and heavier on the love.” – Elle Magazine

The track for “Keep Going Up” originated from Beatclub, the Timbaland-founded music creator platform, and its members, Last Trip to the Moon. Timbaland joined the group’s production team members Brandon Stewart and Brandon Cordoba, who created the beat, for a session, and then added his own flair. The producer also shared a behind the scenes video that depicts the making of the song:

During the tracking week ending September 16, 2023, the song debuted at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song marks the trio’s second appearance on the Hot 100 in 16 years, as their first collaboration, “Give It to Me” reached the top spot in 2007.

The song marks Timbaland’s first Hot 100 appearance in thirteen years since “If We Ever Meet Again” with Katy Perry peaked at #37 in 2010. The song is also Nelly Furtado’s first appearance in eleven years since “Is Anybody Out There” with K’naan peaked at #92 in 2012.