Where Have You Been
"Where Have You Been" is a song by the Barbadian singer Rihanna from her sixth album Talk That Talk. It was released as the third international single from the album on April 17, 2012. The song was written by Ester Dean, Geoff Mack, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Henry "Cirkut" Walter, and Calvin Harris, with production handled by the latter three. The track is a dance-pop song that draws influence from trance, R&B and hip hop. It is backed by "hard, chilly synths" and contains an electro-inspired breakdown sequence. The song's lyrics interpolate Geoff Mack's 1959 song "I've Been Everywhere" and speak of a woman who is searching for a lover who will sexually please her.
"Where Have You Been" was met with positive reviews from most music critics, who likened the song to Talk That Talks lead single, "We Found Love". The track performed well on major international charts. In the United States, "Where Have You Been" reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Rihanna's twenty-second Top 10 single on the chart. It also peaked at number 1 in Mexico, on both the US Dance Club Songs and UK Dance Chart, and at number 3 on the US Pop Songs chart. In addition, it attained top five positions in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Israel and New Zealand, while peaking in the top ten of charts in twenty countries worldwide including Australia, Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom. The song is certified Platinum or higher in eight countries.
The song's accompanying music video, directed by Dave Meyers depicts the singer in an assortment of costumes and locations, referencing the song's lyrics. Rihanna is seen as a semi-naked water reptilian, in an Egyptian desert, an African themed hut, and channeling Hindu god Shiva with multiple limbs. The video received a positive response from critics, who praised Rihanna's new approach to deeper choreography. Rihanna has performed the song on both Saturday Night Live and the finale of the eleventh season of American Idol. Rihanna also performed the song at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in a medley with Only Girl.
The song was nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.
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Production and recording
"Where Have You Been" was written by Ester Dean, Geoff Mack, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Calvin Harris, and Henry "Cirkut" Walter, with production, instrumentation, and programming also handled by the latter three. Mack's song "I've Been Everywhere" is interpolated throughout the song. Dean, Gottwald, Harris, and Walter have produced and/or co-written other songs on Talk That Talk: "We Found Love" for Harris, and "You da One" for Dean, Gottwald, and Walter."Where Have You Been" was recorded by Kuk Harrell and Marcus Tovar at Eightysevenfourteen Studios, Los Angeles, California and Eyeknowasecret Studio, Brentwood, California. Harrel and Tovar were also the vocals engineers and were assisted in the process by Jennifer Rosales. The engineers for the song in its entirety were Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine and Clint Gibbs. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea.
Composition and lyrics
"Where Have You Been" is a dance-pop and dance song, which blends elements of R&B, hip hop and house together. It also incorporates elements of trance music. As noted by Mark Graham for VH1, the song features a "sweeping, trance-ish transition that will bowl over dancefloor denizens in clubs all over the world." Randell Roberts for Los Angeles Times noted that "Rihanna wants her music to bang, and she does so by continuing to mine the connection between R&B, hip-hop and house." Jon Caramanica for The New York Times stated that the song is on the "poppier side of house music." The instrumentation is composed of "buzzy, burping electronics" and "hard, chilly synths." It also features a "monstrous bass", which will according to Graham "will make you want to trade in your factory-installed car speakers for a top-of-the-line sound system."In the "unashamedly sexual" song, Rihanna sings about her desire and wish to find a man who is able to satisfy and please her in any way possible, singing "Where have you been all my li-i-i-i-i-fe". According to Robert Copsey for Digital Spy, it is when Rihanna performs this line that the instrumental changes into a "strobing trance section that ends in a synth-squelching breakdown." Andy Kellam for AllMusic likened the song's chorus to that of Adele "Rolling in the Deep". Caramanica likened the tone of Rihanna's vocals to that of English singer Siouxsie Sioux as she performs the lines "I been everywhere, man/ looking for someone/ someone who can please me,/ Are you hiding from me yeah/ somewhere in the crowd?" "Where Have You Been" lasts for a duration of 4 minutes and 3 seconds, and it was composed in the key of C minor using common time and a moderate dance groove of 128 beats per minute; it follows a chord progression Cm–A–Cm–A with a time signature of 4/4. Rihanna's vocal range spans over one octave from the low note of B♭3 to the high note of C5 on the song.
Critical reception
"Where Have You Been" garnered positive reviews from music critics. Andy Kellman for Allmusic wrote that "Where Have You Been", along with the album's lead single "We Found Love", serve as Talk That Talks "place-holding" dance tracks. Greg Kot for the Chicago Tribune compared "Where Have You Been" and "We Found Love" for being "rave-tastic." Aside from noting the similarities between the two songs, Randell Roberts for Los Angeles Times wrote that neither song would sound out of place at an Electric Daisy Carnival. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd for Spin also wrote that the song was a perfect play for a festival, writing Where Have You Been' is tailor-made for a Coachella pool rave." Jon Caramanica for The New York Times was complimentary of both songs, but wrote that "Where Have You Been" "is even better." Mark Graham for VH1 compared the song to one of Rihanna's previous singles from her 2007 album Good Girl Gone Bad, "Don't Stop the Music", writing Where Have You Been will almost certainly be Rihanna's biggest club smash since 'Don't Stop the Music'."Robert Copsey for Digital Spy shared the same opinion as Graham, writing "We labelled 'Where Have You Been' the record's 'Don't Stop The Music'." He continued to give an explanation as to why the songs are similar writing, "On the surface, similarities between the two are almost non-existent, but on closer inspection, not only are they the danciest cuts on their respective LPs, they're both favourites that fans have been eager to see get an official release." Copsey concluded his review praising the song and Rihanna, writing "Like Rihanna herself, it's hectic, confident and unashamedly sexual." Meghan Brownfield for the Columbia Missourian praised the song as a track which people will want to dance to as well as writing that the lyrics ensure that the listener pays attention to the lyrics, saying "It is a song you would hear in a club that everyone would want to dance to. This song makes you want to move, and it also has some strong lyrics that make you focus on what she is saying." Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine, however, was critical of the song, writing that the song is a "boring dubstep-normalizing dance number reminiscent of LMFAO," as well as Rihanna's own "We Found Love".
Awards
Chart performance
North America
In the United States, "Where Have You Been" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 10, 2011, at number 65 upon the release of the album, with digital download sales of 39,000 copies sold. Upon its release as a single, the song re-entered the Hot 100 at number 78 for the issue dated May 12, 2012. On July 7, 2012, the song reached its peak of number 5, where it remained for a further week. "Where Have You Been" became Rihanna's 22nd top ten chart entry on the Hot 100. Rihanna is currently tied with Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey with 27 entries each, while Madonna leads with 38 entries, the most among all solo and group acts. Rihanna is also the only artist to have attained as many Hot 100 top ten chart entries in shortest time span, with 27 top 10 entries in the space of ten years.On the Digital Songs chart, it debuted at number 65 on December 10, 2011. Upon its release as a single, it re-entered the chart at number 78. By June 7, 2012, the song had ascended to number 5, which remained its peak for the following week. "Where Have You Been" became Rihanna's 26th top ten song to peak within the top ten of the Digital Songs chart. With this chart entry, she surpassed Lil Wayne for achieving the most top ten chart entries, who is now second with a total of 25 entries, since the Digital Songs chart began to contribute to the Hot 100 in February 2005. On the Adult Pop Songs, "Where Have You Been" peaked at number 20. "Where Have You Been" peaked at number 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart on June 9, 2012. With "Where Have You Been" attaining the peak position of the Dance Club Songs chart, Rihanna is now tied in third place with Beyoncé for having the most number 1 songs on the chart with a total of 18. "Where Have You Been" peaked at number 12 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and number 4 on the Latin Pop Songs chart.
"Where Have You Been" debuted at number 64 on the Radio Songs chart on May 12, 2012. On June 16, 2012, the song peaked at number 9, with a 17% increase to a total of 64 million audience impressions. With this chart entry, "Where Have You Been" became Rihanna's 19th top ten on the chart, surpassing Lil Wayne, who has 18 top tens. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, "Where Have You Been" peaked at number 56. It peaked at number 3 on the Pop Songs chart. "Where Have You Been" also peaked at number 5 on Billboards Songs of the Summer, and number 32 on the Tropical Songs chart. On July 1, 2015, "Where Have You Been" was certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting shipments of over 4,000,000 copies. In Canada, "Where Have You Been" peaked at number 5.