What's Up? (4 Non Blondes song)

"What's Up?" is a song by American rock group 4 Non Blondes, released in March 1993 by Interscope Records as the second single from their debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992). The song was written and produced by lead singer Linda Perry. The credited producer is David Tickle; however, Perry claims only her version was released to the public.

"What's Up?" received generally positive reviews from critics; it reached number fourteen on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped the charts of 12 European countries, and entered the top 10 in five other countries. The music video for "What's Up?" was nominated for Best Alternative Rock Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.

Background The song originated long before 4 Non Blondes formed. Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins recalled sitting in a room with Linda Perry (at that time in her life, working as a waitress nearby) performing their original compositions to one another while both were struggling musicians in San Francisco. During these sessions, the two played early versions of "Semi-Charmed Life" and "What's Up?", which would later become major hits for their respective bands. Decades later, Jenkins realized that the songs shared in that private session would go on to sell a combined 17 million records.

The title does not appear in the song's lyrics; instead, the chorus repeatedly features the line "what's going on?". The official title "What's Up?" was deliberately chosen to avoid confusion with Marvin Gaye's 1971 song "What's Going On."

Recording and production "What's Up?" was first recorded with lyrics and arrangement reworked by producer David Tickle at Groove Masters studio, as part of 4 Non Blondes' debut album Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992). However, Perry was dissatisfied with that recording. Perry said in an interview with Tape Op magazine: After Interscope executives dismissed her complaints, Perry booked a recording session at The Plant for the band to re-record her original version of the song. The session took one day, and Interscope's co-owner Jimmy Iovine agreed that he preferred the re-recorded version based on Perry's demo over Tickle's. Perry's version was then used as the final version of the song.

Tickle's instrumental (over the original vocals) could be heard on Perry's episode of Behind the Music. Tickle's version was never released.

Critical reception 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". 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." 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". In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton viewed it as "a wonderful piece of laid back summer rock (well, almost)". 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." A 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."

Alan Jones from Music Week felt it is "charming" and "easily the best track" of the album. 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." 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." 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." A reviewer from Sunday Life wrote that the song is "naggingly memorable"."Cruising with House of Love". Sunday Life. July 25, 1993. page 41. Ronny Johansen from Troms Folkeblad commented, "What a wonderful use of voice and what an irresistible song!"

Conversely, songwriters Carl Barât and Stuart Braithwaite named the song the worst ever. Musician 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."

Commercial 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. It was the best-selling song of 1993 in Austria, the Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) and Sweden.

Music video A music video was produced to promote the single. It was directed by American film director Morgan Lawley 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. The video was later published on YouTube in 2011. On February 17, 2021, "What's Up?" passed a billion views. As of August 2026, the videos has received over 2.2 billion views on YouTube.

Legacy Towards the end of the 1990s, "What's Up?" was included on Rolling Stones "Top Ten One-Hit Wonders of the 1990s", for which Rob Sheffield wrote, "Proof that you can get rich rhyming "revolution" and "institution" while sporting the dreadlocks-and-top-hat look, which somehow failed to catch on. Thanks for the memories!" The song also ranked number 94 on VH1's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders" (2007) and number 86 on MuchMore's "The Top 100 One Hit Wonders" (2012).

In 2019, About.com featured "What's Up?" in their ranking of "The Best 100 Songs From the 1990s", for which 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." In 2024, Forbes magazine ranked "What's Up?" number 47 in their list of "The 50 Best Songs of the 1990s". Hugh McIntyre of Forbes noted that "the song's unforgettable chorus has made it a staple for sing-alongs and karaoke nights everywhere." In 2025, Billboard magazine ranked it number 36 in their list of "The 100 Greatest LGBTQ+ Anthems of All Time".

The song is featured in the 2015 episode "What's Going On?" of the series Sense8, when the eight telepathically connected lead charactersnot yet fully aware of their connectionunknowingly 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". 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".

In 2025, a mashup crafted by TikTok user DJ AuxLord of "What's Up?" and Nicki Minaj's "Beez in the Trap" went viral on TikTok. As a result, it re-entered several charts. Perry called it "ridiculous in all the best ways, [...] I mean, it's pretty awesome, I must say. It's out of control."

Track listings

US and Australian cassette single "What's Up?" (LP version) "Train" (LP version)

Australian and European CD single "What's Up?" (edit) – 4:16 "What's Up?" (remix) – 4:51 "Train" – 3:47 "What's Up?" (piano version) – 4:09

European 7-inch and cassette single "What's Up?" "What's Up?" (piano version)

Japanese mini-CD single "What's Up?" "Spaceman"

Credits and personnel Credits are lifted from the Bigger, Better, Faster, More! album booklet.Studios Recorded at The Plant (Sausalito, California) Mixed and overdubbed at The Bunker (Malibu, California) Mastered at Precision Mastering (Los Angeles)4 Non Blondes Linda Perry – writing, vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, production Roger Rocha – guitar Christa Hillhouse – bass, vocals Dawn Richardson – drumsOther personnel''' David Tickle – production, recording, mixing Mark Hensley – engineering Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1993)PeakpositionDenmark (IFPI) 1Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 1Europe (European Hit Radio) 1Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 15Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 1Israel (Israeli Singles Chart) Search "What's Up" for Israeli chart history. 6Italy (Musica e dischi) 2Lithuania (M-1) 1UK Airplay (Music Week) 3US Billboard Hot 100 14US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard) 16US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard) 29US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard) 15US Cash Box Top 100 13

Chart (2011)PeakpositionPoland (Polish Airplay New) 1

Chart (2020)PeakpositionSlovenia (SloTop50) 48

Chart (2021)PeakpositionUS Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 19

Chart (2025)Peakposition Global 200 (Billboard) 113US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 11

Year-end charts Chart (1993)PositionAustralia (ARIA) 7Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 1Belgium (Ultratop) 2Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 7Europe (European Hit Radio) 1Germany (Media Control) 3Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 6Israel (Israeli Singles Chart) 18Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 1Netherlands (Single Top 100) 3New Zealand (RIANZ) 10Sweden (Topplistan) 1Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 5UK Singles (OCC) 21UK Airplay (Music Week) 10US Billboard Hot 100 50US Cash Box Top 100 50

Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999)PositionBelgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 11

Certifications

Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United StatesMarch 11, 1993CassetteInterscopeUnited KingdomMay 31, 1993EuropeJune 11, 1993AtlanticAustraliaJuly 19, 1993Interscope Misprinted as the previous week, July 12.JapanSeptember 25, 1993Mini-CD

DJ Miko version

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