"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(s) | David Tickle | |||||||||||||
4 Non Blondes singles chronology | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
"What's Up?" is a song by American rock group 4 Non Blondes from their 1992 debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!. It was released as the album's second single in 1993. It was very successful in Brazil and in several European countries, peaking at number one in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
The title does not appear in the song's lyrics. However, the phrase "what's going on?" is prominently included in the chorus. The title was chosen to avoid confusion with Marvin Gaye's 1971 song "What's Going On." Linda Perry told Rolling Stone that she hated the song's production. The music video was directed by Morgan Lawley.
"What's Up?" ranks number 94 on VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders, and ranks 86 on the MuchMore The Top 100 One Hit Wonders.
The recording received considerable airplay success. It reached number 14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and went gold, but peaked higher in many other countries, reaching number one in Germany and Ireland, while reaching number two in the United Kingdom and Australia.
However, composer Carl Barât has claimed that the song among the worst ever recorded, a statement echoed by musician Dean Ween.Gawker journalist Brian Moylan included the track in an unranked list of the "10 Party Songs We Never Ever Want to Hear Again".
^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone
In 2005, a group of animators known as "Slackcircus" created a video called "Fabulous Secret Powers", featuring He-Man from Masters of the Universe singing their own cover of the song (and interpolating lyrics from Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud"). The video has since become an internet meme, with an edited version of the animation (HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA) garnering over 100 million views on YouTube as of April 2017.