About What's Up?

"What's Up?" is a song by American rock group 4 Non Blondes, released as the second single from their 1992 debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!. It has gained popularity in the United States and in several European countries, peaking at number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

The title does not appear in the song's lyrics, but 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". Lead singer Linda Perry told Rolling Stone that she heavily disliked the song's production. Perry revealed on Behind the Music that she hated David Tickle's reworked version (with different lyrics) intended to be used for their album. She had told this to Jimmy Iovine, who agreed, preferring Perry's demo version over Tickle's. Tickle's instrumental (over the original vocals) could be heard on Perry's episode of Behind the Music; Tickle's version was never released. The final version was recorded in one day after Iovine allowed 4 Non Blondes to re-record Perry's demo version. The music video was directed by Morgan Lawley. According to an interview with Perry for Tape Op magazine: "“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.” I grabbed the band during a break and we went to The Record Plant in Sausalito. I started moving things around. I was in the middle of vocals when David Tickle showed up. I was annoyed…we were already done with the frigging song. We comped the vocal and mixed it that night…. 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.”