Twerking Competition 2015, Riga, Latvia

Twerking first received national recognition in the United States in the early 2000s, when the song "Whistle While You Twurk" (2000), by Southern hip hop duo Ying Yang Twins, peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs component chart. It was later referenced in their later track "Say I Yi Yi" (2002), in which the lyrics "she got her hands up on her knees and her elbows on her thighs / she like to twerk and that's for certain I can tell that she fly" are heard. In her 2005 single "Check on It", American recording artist Beyoncé sings "Dip it, pop it, twerk it, stop it, check on me tonight." Beyoncé's single reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, following its release. "Twerk" was also sung in Destiny's Child's pop hit "Jumpin' Jumpin'."
In 2006, the song "Pop, Lock & Drop It", by American rapper Huey, reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100. Also in 2006, the hit single "SexyBack", by American pop singer Justin Timberlake, featuring Timbaland, from the former's second studio album Futuresex/Lovesounds, featured Timbaland rapping the lyrics "Let me see what you're twerking with / Go ahead, be gone with it, Look at those hips". During her tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Eve Torres would twerk before performing a standing moonsault on her opponent.
In 2011, a group of female dancers who call themselves the Twerk Team and have posted several videos of themselves twerking on YouTube were mentioned during the song "Round of Applause" by Waka Flocka Flame featuring Drake, in the line "Bounce that ass, shake that ass like the Twerk Team". Australian rapper Iggy Azalea has incorporated twerking into her live shows since 2011.
In July 2012, during the Workaholics episode "The Lord's Force", Anders Holm says "Let's just, uh, put on some twerk videos or something, right?". The 2012 single "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, contains the lyric "Start twerking when she hear her song", while French Montana questions the ability of a girl to twerk by asking "What you twerkin' with," in his respective 2012 single "Pop That", featuring fellow rappers Drake, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. The aforementioned songs, along with "Express Yourself" by Nicky Da B and Diplo, "Made twerking the most popular dance move since the Dougie".