What's Up? (song)

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"What's Up?"
Single by 4 Non Blondes
from the album Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
B-side Piano version
Released June 23, 1993
Format 7" single, cassette,
CD single, CD maxi
Recorded 1992
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:55 (album version)
4:15 (single edit)
Label Interscope
Writer(s) Linda Perry
Producer David Tickle
4 Non Blondes singles chronology
"Dear Mr. President"
(1993)		 "What's Up?"
(1993)		 "Spaceman"
(1993)
Music sample
4 Non Blondes - "What's Up?"

"What's Up?" is a rock song written by Linda Perry for 4 Non Blondes' debut album Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992). It was released as the album's second single in 1993 (see 1993 in music). It was very successful in Brazil[1] and in several European countries, peaking at number one in Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands.

Contents

[edit] Background and writing

Despite the title, the song does not contain the phrase "what's up?" Rather, the lyric "what's goin' on?" is prominently included in the chorus. The title was chosen to avoid confusion with the 1971 R&B song and album "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye.[2]

[edit] Critical reception and chart performances

On VH1's 100 Greatest One-hit Wonders, "What's Up?" ranks #94.[3] Similarly, it is ranked #19 on Spinner.com's list of the "Top 20 Worst Songs Ever".[4] Most recently, in September 2010, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio ranked the song at #20 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, calling it "[t]he sonic equivalent of those 'hang in there' posters with the cat on a tree limb, except much screechier."[5] The recording received considerable airplay success. It reached number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and went gold, but peaked higher throughout the rest of the world, reaching number one in Germany and Ireland, while reaching number two in the United Kingdom and Australia. The song was remixed by DJ Miko in 1994, reaching number six in the United Kingdom.

[edit] Use on the Internet

The song was used in a popular viral video in which, some, most, or the whole song was played over clips from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, with the clips all edited together cleverly to make He-man appear to be singing. Know Your Meme, a site summarizing Internet Memes, says the video "is a popular trolling tool for use on Synchtube.com to annoy the users of each individual synch."[6] The site goes on to call it "a derivative of the Rickroll". There are multiple versions of the video on YouTube, the most viewed video as of February 2012 has over 7 million views.[7]

[edit] Track listings

7" single / CD single
  1. "What's Up?" – 4:16
  2. "What's Up?" (piano version) – 4:09
CD maxi
  1. "What's Up?" (edit) – 4:16
  2. "What's Up?" (remix) – 4:51
  3. "Train" – 3:47
  4. "What's Up?" (piano version) – 4:09
Cassette
  1. "What's Up?" (LP version)
  2. "Train" (LP version)
  3. "What's Up?" (LP version)
  4. "Train" (LP version)

[edit] Personnel

  • Written by L. Perry
  • Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
  • Recorded, mixed and produced by David Tickle

[edit] Charts and sales

[edit] Peak positions

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[8] 2
Austrian Singles Chart[8] 1
Dutch Top 40[9] 1
Eurochart Hot 100 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[8] 3
German Singles Chart[10] 1
Irish Singles Chart[11] 1
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[8] 11
Norwegian Singles Chart[8] 1
Swedish Singles Chart[8] 1
Swiss Singles Chart[8] 1
UK Singles Chart[12] 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[13] 14
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[13] 16
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[13] 15

[edit] End of year chart

End of year chart (1993) Position
Australian Singles Chart[14] 7
Austrian Singles Chart[15] 1
Dutch Top 40[9] 1
Swiss Singles Chart[16] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[17] 50

[edit] Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
Austria[18] Platinum September 8, 1993 30,000
Germany[19] 2 x Platinum 1993 1,000,000[20]
Netherlands[21] Platinum 1993 60,000
Sweden[22] Gold October 4, 1993 10,000

[edit] Chart successions

Preceded by
"Life" by Haddaway		 Irish IRMA number-one single
July 18, 1993 – August 15, 1993 (5 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Living on My Own" by Freddie Mercury
Preceded by
"Mr. Vain" by Culture Beat		 Norwegian VG-lista number-one single
32/1993 – 42/1993 (11 weeks)
Preceded by
"Mr. Vain" by Culture Beat		 Dutch Top 40 number-one single
August 7, 1993 – October 9, 1993 (10 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)" by Bitty McLean
Preceded by
"(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You" by UB40		 Swedish number-one single
August 11, 1993 – September 15, 1993 (4 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Life" by Haddaway
Preceded by
"(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You" by UB40
"Life" by Haddaway		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
August 14, 1993 – August 21, 1993 (2 weeks)
October 16, 1993 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Mr. Vain" by Culture Beat
"Living on My Own" by Freddie Mercury
Preceded by
"Mr. Vain" by Culture Beat		 Swiss number-one single
August 15, 1993 – November 14, 1993 (14 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" by Meat Loaf
Preceded by
"(I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You" by UB40		 Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single
August 15, 1993 – November 7, 1993 (13 weeks)
Preceded by
"Mr. Vain" by Culture Beat		 German number-one single
August 20, 1993 – October 22, 1993 (10 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"Go West" by Pet Shop Boys

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Linda Perry interview". Guitar Center. http://gc.guitarcenter.com/interview/linda-perry/. Retrieved February 12, 2012. 
  2. ^ Songfacts.com
  3. ^ VH1's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders"
  4. ^ http://www.spinner.com/2008/08/01/top-20-worst-bad-songs-ever-no-19/
  5. ^ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever -- Part Five of Five". AOL Radio. http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/09/11/100-worst-songs-ever-part-five-of-five/. Retrieved December 24, 2010. 
  6. ^ http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/he-man-sings
  7. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ5LpwO-An4
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "What's Up", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2009)
  9. ^ a b "Single top 100 over 1993" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201993.pdf. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
  10. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2009)
  11. ^ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2009)
  12. ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2009)
  13. ^ a b c Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved April 7, 2009)
  14. ^ "1993 Australian Singles Chart". aria. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1993.htm. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
  15. ^ "1993 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. http://www.austriancharts.at/1993_single.asp. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
  16. ^ "1993 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. http://www.swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=1993. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
  17. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1993. Retrieved 2010-08-27. 
  18. ^ Austrian certifications ifpi.at (Retrieved April 4, 2009)
  19. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('What%27s+Up%3F')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. http://www.musikindustrie.de/gold_platin_datenbank/?action=suche&strTitel=What%2527s%2BUp%253F&strInterpret=&strTtArt=alle&strAwards=checked. Retrieved April 4, 2009. 
  20. ^ [1] (Retrieved March 8, 2010)
  21. ^ Dutch certifications nvpi.nl (Retrieved April 4, 2009)
  22. ^ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved April 4, 2009)

[edit] External links

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