Why (Annie Lennox song)

Jennifer Bowles from Associated Press described the song as an "emotional" and "hypnotizing ballad".[2] Larry Flick from Billboard called it a "soft-yet-vivid ballad that beautifully showcases the rich and distinctive tone of her voice". He noted that the "sophisticated nature of track will strain at (and should ultimately knock down) the tight boundaries of top 40 radio."[3] Cashbox labeled it as a "soulful ballad", that "is stirring attention, which is, of course, Annie's forte."[4] Keith Wallace from Columbia Daily Spectator said that "Why" "wants to be a soulful ballad, but it's so drippy and goofy that it doesn't come anywhere close."[5] Stephanie Zacharek from Entertainment Weekly noted how "languorously [Lennox] stretches that word across several measures as if she were unfurling a length of satin."[6] Dave Sholin from Gavin Report stated that the "haunting" song is "a testament to her singing and writing prowess."[7]

Another editor, Kent Zimmerman called it "spiritually ultrasonic, breathtakingly sophisticated, lyrically telling and congruently adult in texture and tempo."[8] HuffPost wrote that Lennox' vocal approach "evokes" Sting and Paul Simon and added "she declares, "This is the book I never read, these are the words I never said, this is the path I'll never tread", then went on to say, "These are the dreams I'll dream instead", making this her sideways stab at creating her own "My Way" (as the artist points out in the notes [of her 2009 collection])."[9] Music & Media commented that the singer "confidently goes AC on her first solo effort" and it is "gently moving and highly polished. She could hardly move farther away from the stirring rock of Eurythmics."[10] Tore Tungodden from Norwegian newspaper Nordhordland picked the song as a "musical higglight", adding it as "beautiful and catchy".[11] Kjell Moe from Nordlys called it "beautiful and intense".[12] Pop Rescue noted that "a soft brushed beat and gentle percussion sit comfortably beneath Annie's sad vocals. This song gently grows, throwing in some extra soft beats, but generally keeps itself a little low-key."[13]

Nick Griffiths from Select said that it is "the sort of tasteful soulful ballady thing you 'd probably expect of her by now, and when the tide of tasteful soulful balladiness swamps her halfway through it's no surprise either."[14] Slant Magazines Eric Henderson wrote that "Why" is "hardly the sort of melodramatic setting we'd imagine from an album whose very name evokes histrionic pretense. But Annie Lennox isn't and has never been a representative pop diva. Her body is lanky and angular instead of curvaceously plush. Her exaggerated facial features (capped off with a most spectacular set of cheekbones that she wisely never allowed her hair to grow long enough to cover) are matched in androgen-fabulousness only by her tremulously guttural alto."[15] Harry Dean from Smash Hits called it a "glistening beauty". In 2015, Stereogum ranked "Why" at number-one in their list of the 10 best Annie Lennox songs.[16]

"Why" was very successful on the charts on several continents, peaking at number-one in Italy. In Europe, it managed to climb into the Top 10 also in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked at number 3. In the UK, the single reached number 5 in its third week at the UK Singles Chart, on April 5, 1992. Additionally, it was a Top 20 hit in Austria, Germany and Spain. Outside Europe, "Why" reached number 7 on the RPM Singles Chart in Canada, number 15 in New Zealand, number 17 in Australia and number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. But on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, it was an even bigger hit, peaking at number 6.

The music video for the song was directed by British director Sophie Muller and was filmed in Venice, Italy[17] 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.[18][19] It was uploaded to YouTube in October 2009. As of September 2020, the video has got more than 46,8 million views.[20]

7" single

CD maxi

"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
Songwriter(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.

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. In 2003 the song was performed by popular NOLA singer /musician John Boutte on his album Jambalaya. 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.[57] Ukrainian singer Ani Lorak covered the song in May 2012. The movie "Hope Springs" released 2012 starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones uses the song in one of its last scenes. The song was also covered in the Finale of The Voice and was released on iTunes in June 2013 by contestant Michelle Chamuel.

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics