Why (Annie Lennox song)

"Why"
Single by Annie Lennox
from the album Diva
B-side	Primitive
Released	28 March 1992
Format	7", CD, Maxi-Single
Recorded	July 1991
Genre	Soul, pop, adult contemporary
Length	4:53 (Album/Single Version)
Label	BMG, Arista
Writer(s)	Annie Lennox
Producer(s)	Stephen Lipson
Annie Lennox singles chronology
"Put a Little Love in Your Heart" (1988) "Why" (1992) "Precious" (1992)
Music video "Why" on YouTube

"Why" is the first solo single by the Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released in 1992. It was taken from her debut solo album Diva and reached no.5 in the United Kingdom and number thirty-four on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached no.6 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sophie Muller and was filmed during the shoot for the Diva album cover. The video shows Lennox sitting in front of a vanity mirror staring and marveling at herself before slowly putting on makeup. By the middle of the video, Lennox is fully made up and in the outfit she wore on the Diva album cover. The rest of the video consists of shots of Lennox posing for the cameras along with in-between shots of her singing the song. The video won Lennox an award for Best Female Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.^[1][2]

Track listings

7" single

• A side: "Why" (Single Version) (4:53)
• B side: "Primitive" (4:17)

CD maxi

1. "Why" (Single Version) (4:53)
2. "Primitive"* (4:20)
3. "Why" (instrumental) (4:54)

*Programmed by - Marius de Vries^[3]

Charts

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Italian Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	5
Irish Singles Chart	5
Norwegian Singles Chart	6
Swiss Singles Chart	6
Canadian Singles Chart	7
Swedish Singles Chart	10
Austrian Singles Chart	11
German Singles Chart	12
Australian Singles Chart	17
US Billboard Hot 100 Chart	34

DJ Sammy version

"Why"
Single by DJ Sammy featuring Britta Medeiros
from the album The Rise
Released	June 2005
Recorded	2003
Genre	Trance, dance
Label	Ministry of Sound/Data
Writer(s)	Annie Lennox
Producer(s)	Martin Eyerer Oliver Laib
DJ Sammy featuring Britta Medeiros singles chronology
"Rise Again" (2004) "Why" (2005) "L'bby Haba" (2006)

In 2005 "Why" was covered by Spanish producer DJ Sammy with vocals by German singer Britta Medeiros. "Why" is the second single from the album The Rise. The music video features DJ Sammy in a room with a mixboard that he uses to create three holographic women that sing the song.

Formats and track listing

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Why".^[4]

USA CD single

1. "Why" (Radio Edit) – 4:00
2. "Why" (Candlelight Mix) – 4:25
3. "Why" (Extended Mix) – 6:44
4. "Why" (Phunk Investigation Remix) – 5:55
5. "Why" (Breeze & Styles Remix) – 6:17
6. "Why" (DJ Sammy's Extended Mix) – 7:10
7. "Why" (Parker & Hanson Remix) – 7:58
8. "Why" (Andrew McCensit Remix) – 7:58
9. "Why" (Phunk Investigation Dub) – 9:21

Germany CD single

1. "Why" (Radio Edit)
2. "Why" (Sammy Extended)
3. "Why" (Parker & Hanson Remix)
4. "Cheba"

Australia CD single

1. "Why" (Radio Edit)
2. "Why" (Club Mix)
3. "Why" (Sammy's Extended Mix)
4. "Why" (Parker & Hanson Mix)

UK CD single

1. "Why" (Radio Edit) – 3:28
2. "Why" (Club Mix) – 6:43
3. "Why" (Breeze & Styles Remix) – 6:19
4. "Why" (Phunk Investigation Remix) – 5:55
5. "Why" (Parker & Hanson Mix) – 8:46
6. "Why" music video

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[5]	29
Germany (Official German Charts)[6]	64
Ireland (IRMA)[7]	16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[8]	7

Other versions

The song was interpreted by Amii Stewart and Dee Dee Bridgewater on the 1994 Italian song festival. In 2001, Neal Schon performed an instrumental version on the album Voice. The song was also covered by Kelly Clarkson, live on her 2005 Hazel Eyes Tour. This song has also been covered by Keith Caputo on Died Laughing Pure. In March 2008 the song was covered by Italian singer Silvia Aprile on X-Factor Italy stage. The studio version of Aprile's cover was later included in the Italian X-Factor compilation. In August 2009, the song was covered by David Rose. Also, the song was covered in September 2009 by European singer Lara Fabian on her new album "Every Woman In Me" and by Canadian artist Allison Crowe on her 2010 album Spiral. It was also covered live in January 2010 by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Annie Clark of St. Vincent at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. At Christmas season 2010 it was covered by Patrice Pike in a live recording Sudden Light: Christmas at the Carillon with Conspirare (Craig Hella Johnson and Company of Voices). In July 2011, the song was covered by singer/songwriter Kevin Caffrey.^[9] Ukrainian singer Ani Lorak covered the song in May 2012. The song was also covered in the Finale of The Voice and was released on iTunes in June 2013 by contestant Michelle Chamuel.

References

1. http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=16391
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG7I4oniOyA
3. Discogs.com - Lennox CD maxi single info
4. DJ Sammy at discogs.com Retrieved 11 September 2007.
5. "Australian-charts.com – DJ Sammy – Why". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
6. "Musicline.de – DJ Sammy Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
7. Search for Irish peaks
8. "Archive Chart: 2005-06-25" UK Singles Chart.
9. "Kevin Caffrey - Why". YouTube. 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2012-01-12.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics