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What's Up? (4 Non Blondes song)
1993 single by 4 Non Blondes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"What's Up?" (known as "What's Going On?" which is said in the chorus instead of the title name), is a song by American rock group 4 Non Blondes, released in March 1993 by Interscope and Atlantic Records as the second single from their sole album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992). The song was written by lead singer Linda Perry and the credited produced is David Tickle, though Perry is adamant that her production, not Tickle's, was the version released to the public. It reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[3] topped the charts of 12 European countries, and entered the top 10 in five other countries worldwide. The accompanying music video was directed by American film director Morgan Lawley[4] and was also nominated in the category for Best Alternative Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.[4]
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Background and recording
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The song had its origins well before 4 Non Blondes were formed. Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins recalled sitting in a room with Linda Perry, who worked as a waitress down the street, performing their original compositions to one another when the two were struggling musicians in San Francisco. The two played each other early versions of "Semi-Charmed Life" and "What's Up?", both of which would become massive hits for their respective bands. It would be decades later that Jenkins realized the songs performed in that private session would sell a combined 17 million records.[5] The title does not appear in the song's lyrics, but the phrase "what's going on?" is prominently included in the chorus.
A different version of the song, with lyrics and arrangement reworked by producer David Tickle, was originally recorded at Groove Masters studio as part of 4 Non Blondes' debut album, but Perry hated it so much that she complained to Interscope executives. When she was told that the song sounded fine, Perry took matters into her own hands and booked a recording session at The Plant for the band to re-record her original version of the song.[6][2] The song was re-recorded in one day, with the label's co-owner Jimmy Iovine agreeing that he preferred the re-recorded version based on Perry's demo over Tickle's, and establishing Perry's version as the final version of the song.
During an interview with Tape Op magazine, Perry recalled how the recording went:
The producer (David Tickle) had no sense of what the song was. I went to the label and said "This song sucks. This is not the song I wrote." They didn't support me. They said it sounded fine. I did not agree. I grabbed the band during a break and we went to The Record Plant in Sausalito. ... I started moving things around. The engineer there helped me a lot. I would tell him what I wanted, and if he didn't get it I would move the microphone around. Then I'd go, "Yes, that's it. That's the sound." I did that with everything. Then we got the tempo, and we got the recording of it, the base of it, done. I re-did my acoustics. I was in the middle of vocals when David Tickle showed up. I'd laid down three vocals. I was annoyed he showed up. We were already done with the frigging song. We comped the vocal and mixed it that night, and it made mastering the next day. That is the version that blew up all over the world. [...] I've told the story enough that people know that David Tickle did not produce that song. It was me.[7]
Tickle's instrumental (over the original vocals) could be heard on Perry's episode of Behind the Music; Tickle's version was never released.
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Critical reception
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AllMusic editor Tom Demalon described the song as a "massive, neo-hippie anthem" in his review of Bigger, Better, Faster, More! Rolf Edmund Lund from Norwegian Altaposten complimented Perry's voice as "incredibly good".[8] Larry Flick from Billboard magazine wrote, "Gymnastic vocals, leaping from a breathy, high range, to gravelly, bar-rock blues in a single passage, front this straightforward, heartfelt rocker. Treads the line between album rock and modern rock, with the piano version favoring the former."[9] Tom Sinclair from Entertainment Weekly described it as "funky" and added that it "is only one of the goodies in the Blondes' musical grab bag".[10] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton viewed it as "a wonderful piece of laid back summer rock (well, almost)".[11] Pan-European magazine Music & Media complimented it as a "strong composition", where the lyrics "are done more than justice by Linda Perry's impressive vocal touch."[12] An Music & Media editor commented, "Toni Childs backed by a rock band playing Bobbie McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" comes closest as a description."[13]
Alan Jones from Music Week felt it is "charming" and "easily the best track" of the album.[14] Steven Wells from NME named it Single of the Week, writing, "This has a nine-foot tall titanium hook and a woman singer who does a fair bit of that Bjorkish OOOOOOEEEEEOOOEEE and seems to be demanding a revolution and is extremely pissed off about the world. Ooh, she's really getting going now. Damn, but this is good."[15] R.S. Murthi from New Straits Times called it "anthemic" and remarked that it "is probably one of the simplest and catchiest pop songs to be produced in recent times."[16] Carmen von Rohr from Rome News-Tribune noted "the amazingly down-to earth common sense lyrics" of "What's Up?", and added that Linda Perry "sings in her rich, soulful voice about the frustrations she feels as she tries to adjust to her place in the universe."[17] A reviewer from Sunday Life wrote that the song is "naggingly memorable".[18] Ronny Johansen from Troms Folkeblad commented, "What a wonderful use of voice and what an irresistible song!"[19]
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Chart performance
The recording received considerable airplay success. It reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and went gold, but peaked higher in many other countries, reaching number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland while reaching number two in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Impact and legacy
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"What's Up?" was ranked number 94 on VH1's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders"[20] and number 86 on the MuchMore "The Top 100 One Hit Wonders".[21] Some critics disliked "What's Up?". Songwriters Carl Barât and Stuart Braithwaite named the song the worst ever.[22][23] Dean Ween said: "It's as bad as music gets... Everything about the song is so awful that if I sat down and tried to write the worst song ever, I couldn't even make it 10 percent of the reality of how awful that song is."[24] In 2019, About.com featured it in their ranking of "The Best 100 Songs From the 1990s". Bill Lamb remarked that the song "seemingly appeared out of nowhere, becoming a neo-folkie hit first on modern rock radio stations and then on the pop charts. Although it only reached number 11, it has been a radio fixture ever since."[25] In 2024, Forbes magazine ranked "What's Up?" number 47 in their list of "The 50 Best Songs of the 1990s". Hugh McIntyre noted that "the song's unforgettable chorus has made it a staple for sing-alongs and karaoke nights everywhere."[26] In 2025, Billboard magazine ranked it number 36 in their list of "The 100 Greatest LGBTQ+ Anthems of All Time".[27]
The song is featured in the 2015 episode "What's Going On?" of the series Sense8, when the eight telepathically connected lead characters – not yet fully aware of their connection – unknowingly perform karaoke together, to the 4 Non Blondes, from their eight respective cities; a remix is played at a rave in the series' 2017 episode "Fear Never Fixed Anything".[28] The song is featured in the 2025 episode "Janine", of the series The Handmaid's Tale, when a group of women, forced into sexual slavery under a Christian dictatorship, sing the lines "I pray / oh my God do I pray / I pray every single day / for revolution".[29]
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Music video
A music video was produced to promote the single. It was directed by American film director Morgan Lawley[4] and features the band, dressed in punk clothing, performing the song as they stand in a living room set decorated with paintings. In between, there is footage of the band in a park and a playground. It was nominated in the category for Best Alternative Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.[4] The video was later published on YouTube in 2011 and passed 1 billion views in February 2021 on the platform.[30]
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Track listings
Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the Bigger, Better, Faster, More! album booklet.[38]
Studios
- Recorded at The Plant (Sausalito, California)
- Mixed and overdubbed at The Bunker (Malibu, California)
- Mastered at Precision Mastering (Los Angeles)
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4 Non Blondes
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Other personnel
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Charts
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Certifications
Release history
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DJ Miko version
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Italian disc jockey DJ Miko covered the song as a dance track in 1993 (retitled without the question mark) with vocals provided by Italian singer Maria Capri. Capri does not appear in the music video nor on stage, as British performer Louise Gard lip-synched to Capri's vocals during live performances. Although the song was released as a stand-alone single, it later appeared on DJ Miko's sole album, The Last Millennium, in 1999. DJ Miko's version was a modest hit in Europe in late 1993 and early 1994, reaching number five in Italy and Spain, number 13 in Finland, and number 17 in Sweden.
The cover was released worldwide in mid-1994, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and number eight on the Irish Singles Chart. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "What's Up" reached number 21. In the United States it reached number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 19 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. In the Australasia region, "What's Up" was popular in New Zealand, reaching number 23 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, but it was a commercial failure in Australia, reaching number 92 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Critical reception
In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "The biggest new hit of the week comes straight from the clubs. After setting dancefloors alight for weeks, this rather pointless dance remake of the 4 Non Blondes track crashes straight into the Top 10. As a dance track it seems to work alright but of course pales in comparison with the original which made No.2 in July last year."[98] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update described the song as a "truly bizarre galloping cheesy Eurodisco remake of the 4 Non Blonde's strangulatedly wailed 1993 smash".[99] Mark Frith from Smash Hits gave it three out of five, noting that "keeping the lead vocal line and adding a techno techno techno backing is an interesting experiment, and it partly works too." He concluded, "It has enough cheek and novelty value to probably be a hit."[100]
Charts
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Minnesota version
German Eurodance group Minnesota covered the song as a dance version in late 1993. It reached number one in Portugal and on the Canadian RPM Dance chart, peaked at number two in Finland, and also charted in Belgium and Switzerland.
Charts
"Fabulous Secret Powers" version
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In 2005, a Fort Worth, Texas-based animation and video production company known as SLACKCiRCUS created a parody music video titled "Fabulous Secret Powers." Inspired by Fenslerfilm's G.I. Joe PSAs, the video pairs and edits footage from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe with a campy techno-house cover of "What's Up" that also interpolates "Don't Cry Out Loud" by Melissa Manchester.[123][124] The video became an Internet meme in the early 2010s, thanks to an edited re-upload by YouTube channel ProtoOfSnagem under the title "HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA."[125] As of February 2025, the "HEYYEYAAEYAAAEYAEYAA" video has 222.3 million views, and the original "Fabulous Secret Powers" video has 7.3 million views. The meme was itself parodied by YouTube gaming channel The Yogscast in a 2013 music video that hit a million views in 24 hours.[126] Both "What's Up?" and the "Fabulous Secret Powers" version were featured in the 2023 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. According to the film's director Jeff Rowe, the inclusion of the SLACKCiRCUS cover was suggested by producer & co-writer, Seth Rogen during a chase scene where Rogen considered to the team that they use "a crazy version" of "What's Up".[127]
References
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