North America

On the chart dated February 7, 2015, "Worth It" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 82.^[35] It would exit the chart the following week and re-enter on the third week at number 93.^[36] On the Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic charts, the song debuted at 39 and 38, respectively.^[37] On the main chart, it would exit once again, this time for four weeks, before charting at number 92.^[38] For the week dated March 28, 2015, the song rose five spots to a new position at number 87.^[39] Following the release of the music video, which premiered at the Kid's Choice Awards, the song rose nine spots to number 78.^[40] The promotion from the video and the show's audience gave the song a 20 spot jump at number 58 for the week dated April 11, 2015.^[41] For the week dated April 18, 2015, the song rose 17 spots to a peak of 41.^[42] The following week, the song rose two spots at a new peak of 39, earning the group their second top 40 hit and their highest-charting single at the time of the publication. It recorded 48,000 digital sales, a five percent slip from the previous week and a four percent increase at 3.6 million streams.^[43] On the Mainstream Top 40 chart, the song would peak at number four, earning them their first top 10 hit as well as their first entry in the Rhythmic chart, where the song peaked at number 19^[44][45]

For the week dated May 2, 2015, the song rose five more spots to a peak of number 34 and two more spots the following week.^[46][47] The song rose 11 spots again to a new peak of 21, for the week dated May 16, 2015 and would be stationary for another week.^[48][49] The next week, the song rose two more spots at a new peak of 19, earning the group their first top 20 single, gaining radio airplay by 18 percent at a 31 million audience.^[50] This occurred a week after a minor controversy, where the group was scheduled to perform the track on the Billboard Music Awards but instead presented an award, citing time issues with the rehearsal and production of the song. Instead, they opted for a performance of the song at the season twenty finale of Dancing with the Stars.^[51][52] For the week dated June 6, 2015, the song rose two spots to number 17.^[53] It would fall one spot for the week dated June 13, 2015 and would stay there for one week before rising three spots to number 15.^[54] The song would rise one spot and staying at number 14, recording a rise of 7 percent at a 79 million audience for radio airplay and charting at number 10 on the Radio Songs chart for the week dated July 22, 2015.^[55] The song would reach its peak of number 12 on the chart dated August 8, 2015, becoming the week's streaming gainer.^[56] Since its release, the song has sold over 1,700,000 copies, according to a publication from Billboard, on May 12, 2017.^[57] It achieved a triple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, for combined sales and track-equivalent streams units of three million;^[58] additionally, as of 2016, it was one of only twenty-two songs released in 2015 to be certified multi-platinum.^[59]

The song debuted at number 92 in Canada on the week marked April 11, 2015.^[60] For the following week, the song rose 25 spots at a position at number 67 and then another the week after that. It would rise 12 spots once again for the week dated May 2, 2015.^[61] The song would rise one spot for two consecutive weeks, before staying stationary for one week. It continued to rise in positions, two spots then six spots to a peak at number 44 for the week of June 6, 2015.^[62] It would rise another ten spots to peak at number 34, earning the group their first top 40 entry in this market.^[63] The following week, the song continued its rise, jumping 13 spots to number 21. It would rise once again, peaking at number 16, and earning the group their first top 20 entry as well for the week dated June 27, 2015. It rose one spot for two consecutive weeks before falling two spots at number 16. After a series of drops and rises, the song would peak at number 12, on the week of September 5, 2015.^[64] It was certified double platinum for selling over 160,000 digital copies. In Mexico, the song topped both its English and domestic charts. It was subsequently promoted through a Spanish release, where the group sang their verses in Spanish. It was certified platinum for selling 60,000 copies.

Elsewhere

The song was released in the United Kingdom through digital download on June 21, 2015, over six months since being released in the United States market and more than three months later since receiving airplay there as well. For the week of July 4, 2015, the song debuted at number 81 on the UK Singles Chart.^[65] It rose thirty spots to a peak of 51, the following week. For the week dated July 16, 2015, the song rose 48 spots to a peak at number 3, earning the group their first top five entry on the chart.^[66] The song would stay in the top 40 for eight additional weeks and would chart for a total of 19 weeks.^[67] The song peaked in the top 20 of nine additional countries. In Hungary, the song entered the top 10 of the country's three domestic charts, rising six spots to a peak of number 2 on the week of September 20, 2015 on the singles chart. On the dance and radios chart, the song rose three spots for the same week as the singles chart, to a peak of seven and rose one spot to a peak at number four, respectively. In the French charts, the song peaked at number 15 and charted for a total of 29 weeks. Similarly, in Germany, the song peaked at number 16 and would chart for 31 weeks.

In Australia, the song would peak at number nine, earning the group their first top 10 entry in this market. The song would stay in the top 10 for an additional week and would chart for a total of fifteen weeks. Conversely, in the New Zealand market, the song failed to reach the top 20, charting at 31 and appearing on the chart for fourteen weeks. The song received airplay in Middle Eastern markets, topping the charts in both Israel and Lebanon. The song's blend of Balkan music, which has been a staple in the Middle East, aided in its success in this region. The song debuted at number 98 on the Japanese Hot 100 for the week January 23, 2016.^[68] The following week, it rose 44 spots to a new peak of 54.^[69] It would rise 25 more spots to a new position at number 29 and then three spots to a position at 26, where it would reach its peak.^[70] Across seas, the song peaked at 53 on the Brazilian Billboard Hot 100, making its first appearance on this chart.

Background and reception

The music video premiered at the 2015 Kids' Choice Awards on March 28, 2015.^[72] It was uploaded the same day to the group's official Vevo account and directed by Cameron Duddy.^[73][74] The video follows a similar concept from their lead single, "Boss", focusing on themes of self-worth, confidence and female empowerment. The "Worth It" music video earned Fifth Harmony their first Vevo certified award in July 2015^[75] and later reached the one-billion-view mark on July 26, 2016. With over 2 billion views, it is now one of the 60 most viewed YouTube videos of all time and the second-most watched YouTube video by a girl group, being overtaken at the number one spot for most watched video with "Work from Home", which was released a nearly a year later.^[73]

Critics were positively receptive of the video, some calling the visuals "sexy" and commending the message of female empowerment that is the group executes. In a positive review, MTV called it "surprisingly sexy" and compared the office look of the video to Fifty Shades of Grey.^[76] Christina Lee from Idolator praised the video for putting women in position of power. She notes the video's ambiguous message, but knows there is a "clear difference between women dressing for the male gaze and doing so for their own personal satisfaction."^[77] The video was abruptly deleted from YouTube on July 18. At the time, a static screen appeared that read, "This video has been removed as a violation of YouTube's policy on repetitive, misleading or inappropriate metadata." It was later re-uploaded with the previous views intact. When reached to comment on the issue, a spokesperson for YouTube later commented saying that videos can be taken down by mistake but a review is taken to take "appropriate action", which include restoring videos that were previously removed. However, there could be another reason why it was taken down, which is because of its sexualized portrayal of Cabello and Jane, who were underage when the video was filmed.^[78]

Synopsis

The video begins with shots of the skyline of Hong Kong, where most of the setting takes place. An image of a stock market appears, zooming in on what appears to say, "@FifthHarmony women in power". The girls then appear in silhouettes and begin walking confidently as men stand next to a wall, appearing to stand in attention to the ladies. Individual shots of every girl are shown, giggling and smiling at the camera, before switching back to the stock market background. The group perform a choreographed dance move, and a Newton's cradle is shown being used, in rhythm to the song. The words "break through the glass ceiling" appear in stock market background, a reference to the obstacles that minorities, particularly minority women, have when climbing the corporate ladder.

The verse changes to Kid Ink, who is dressed in almost all-black clothing, he doesn't move his body and is stationary, which is to show he is being forced into humiliation. He appears to be sitting in an office room with two attractive women approaching him as he sings. The women are dressed in business attire and are shown to have green eyes, in this case it is to show their possessiveness over him, tricking him into signing a fake cheque into fraud. A man is shown cleaning Dinah's shoe, as she controls him. She then kicks him to show she is not controlled by anyone. The scene shifts to Normani, who is sporting a fashionable business outfit with a white blazer. She then dramatically stands up from her chair, while a man, who appears to be her accountant, looks at her in a frightened motion. Just like the women sitting next to Kid Ink, he also appears to have green eyes, but in this case it is to show his jealousy of them, as shown in shakespeare. All members perform a dance move, when the setting shifts to Camila getting ready to play golf in her office. Ally is then shown with a man who also appears to be her accountant, similar to Normani. Lauren is seen in the back of a convertible black car with a man in the driver's seat. Each girl either flicks the man next to them or kicks them in frustration.

The ladies are now in the stock market background, telling their lover that they're "Worth It". They also seem to rush their accountants, who are continuously typing on their calculators. The words "feminism is sexy" appear in the stock market background, before switching to Kid Ink, where the women move in-sync to the rhythm as he raps. The camera zooms into the eyes of a woman, with her eyes appearing bright green. The group perform more choreographed dance moves individually and as a group. Shots of all the members winking their eye, smiling, and showing confidence are shown. The video ends with the group facing away from the camera and looking at the stock market behind them, then turn around and move their hands upward, a similar ending to the group's past videos.