What About Now (Daughtry song)

Infobox Single
Name = What About Now


Artist = Daughtry
from Album = Daughtry
B-side =
Released = July 1, 2008 (U.S.)
Format =
Recorded = 2006
Genre = Pop rock
Length = 4:10
Label = RCA/19 Entertainment
Writer = Ben Moody, David Hodges, Josh Hartzler
Producer = Howard Benson
Certification =
Last single = "Feels Like Tonight"
(2008)
This single = "What About Now"
(2008)
Next single = TBA
(2008)

"What About Now" is the seventh and final single off of American rock band Daughtry's eponymous debut album. The song is a ballad, that was written by Ben Moody, David Hodges (both former members of Evanescence), and Josh Hartzler, who is married to Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence. It is one of only two songs on the album not at least co-written by Chris Daughtry. The song was announced as the band's next single on their website. [ [http://www.daughtryofficial.com/news/daughtry-american-idol-week-support-one-campaign Daughtry DAUGHTRY ON AMERICAN IDOL THIS WEEK; SUPPORT THE ONE CAMPAIGN | The Official Daughtry Site ] ] It was officially released in the U.S. on July 1, 2008. [ [http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=166910 FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more! ] ]

Music video

The music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, premiered Friday July 11 on FNMTV Premieres, where it got a standing ovation at FNMTV Studio. [ [http://mtv.com/ New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV ] ] The video can now be viewed on the band's official site.

The video is a social commentary, depicting several people and places affected by poverty, natural disasters, and war, as well as other world issues. Several comments are made about these issues, and the video also asks introspective questions to the viewer. Certain people who are working to help these problems are shown throughout the video, with their names and what they're associated with listed. The video features a light bulb that has not yet burned out, which symbolizes that it's not too late to make a difference. The video concludes with one final question to the viewer, "What About Now?", shown next to the burning light bulb. A few shots of the band playing the song live are also shown in the video.

On August 30, 2008, "What About Now" reached the #1 spot on the VH1 Top Twenty Video Countdown after numerous weeks of being stuck behind "Pocketful of Sunshine." Then Later returned to the #1 spot on September 13, 2008 and September 20, 2008 after being taken off the #1 spot 1 week later.

ong usage

The song was used on the February 21, 2008 episode of the seventh season of "American Idol", in a video package showcasing the season's top 24. An acoustic version of the song was performed by the band on a trip to Uganda, Africa in aid of the April 9, 2008 telecast of the fund raising charity event "Idol Gives Back". The band performed in a small village surrounded by a group of underprivileged children that were heard singing along at one point, while a video also showed scenes of the band's trip.

Chart performance

Raising money for Idol Gives Back, the acoustic performance of "What About Now" was put onto iTunes and shot into the top ten of iTunes' Top 100 Chart within 24 hours of its release, peaking at #6. The album has also appeared on iTunes peaking at #4. As such the song debuted at #8 on the "Billboard" Hot Digital Songs chart, fueling a #18 debut on "Billboard's" Hot 100, the band's highest debuting song to date, as well as their fourth top twenty Hot 100 hit. It also entered at #17 on the Canadian Hot 100, giving the band their fourth top twenty hit there as well. It was placed at #33 on the United World Chart, giving Daughtry their third charting single on that chart. It achieved these peaks over two months before the song's official release.

Following "What About Now"'s official release, the song has become the band's fifth consecutive top ten hit on the Adult Top 40, so far reaching #4. This is an all time record for the most top ten hits from a debut album on the Adult Top 40 chart. This also ties the album with Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" and Nickelback's "All the Right Reasons" for the most Adult Top 40 top tens from any album, debut or not. [ [http://hotacguru.wordpress.com/2008/08/27/82408-hot-ac-chart-3-doors-down-returns-to-1-daughtry-goes-top-10/] ] The song has also entered the top thirty on Mainstream Top 40 radio, so far reaching #25. As such, the song re-entered the Hot 100 at #94 on the chart week of September 6, 2008, and has climbed to #55 so far upon its re-entry.

References