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Cover of Bigger, Better, Faster, More! by 4 Non Blondes
Cover: Bigger, Better, Faster, More!

Song · 4 Non Blondes

“What's Up?” by 4 Non Blondes

From the album Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992)

“What's Up?” by 4 Non Blondes appears on 41 radio countdowns from 14 stations between 1993 and 2025. It was first released in 1992 on the album Bigger, Better, Faster, More!. Its best result is #10 on the Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1993. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #29 alternative song of 1993 and #640 alternative song of all time.

41countdowns
14stations
#10best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1993–2025years charted

Watch

4 Non Blondes - What's Up (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (4NonBlondesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"What's Up?" came off Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, the 1992 debut by American rock group 4 Non Blondes, and it's built around one thing: Linda Perry's voice. She wrote it on her own, strums the acoustic and electric guitars, and sings it like she's shouting across a canyon, a big, raw, open-throated wail that turns a simple strummed chord pattern into a singalong for the whole bar.

Christa Hillhouse plays bass and sings backup, Dawn Richardson drums, Louis Metoyer and Roger Rocha add guitar and Laurent Tardy plays piano. Who actually produced it is a point of contention: David Tickle holds the credit, and he mixed and recorded it with Mark Hensley, but Perry has maintained that the version the public heard is her own.

Interscope put it out as the album's second single in March 1993, and it took off everywhere, reaching number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100, going to number one in 12 European countries and landing in the top 10 in five more. The video earned a nomination for Best Alternative Rock Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1993 24 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1993 107
1993 77 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993 105
1993 13 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1993 101
1993 10 Virgin Radio United Kingdom Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1993 10
1993 24 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1993 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1993 54 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1993) 100
1995 343 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 249 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 434 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1999 550 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 760 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 142 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 142 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 129 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 159 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2002 129 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 129 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 95 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio VR10x10 (April 2003) 100
2004 129 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 249 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 127 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 405 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 981 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 168 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 1270 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 800 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 1270 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1283 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1324 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1378 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 1429 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 1486 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 314 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 71 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 307 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 671 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 308 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 59 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 268 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 550 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2025 490 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800

Also listed as: What's Up.

Charting alongside it in 1993

Best songs of 1993 →
  1. 1CannonballThe Breeders
  2. 2CreepRadiohead
  3. 3LingerThe Cranberries
  4. 4PlushStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5No RainBlind Melon
  6. 6Soul to SqueezeRed Hot Chili Peppers

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