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Cover of Diva by Annie Lennox — Cover: Diva

Song · Annie Lennox

“Why” by Annie Lennox

From the album Diva (1992)

“Why” by Annie Lennox appears on 20 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1992 and 2026. It was first released in 1992 on the album Diva. Its best result is #19 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #44 alternative song of 1992 and #1,923 alternative song of all time.

20countdowns

9stations

#19best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1992–2026years charted

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Annie Lennox - Why (Official Music Video)

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

"Why" was Annie Lennox's first single on her own, released by RCA in 1992 to launch her solo album Diva. She wrote it alone and Stephen Lipson produced, and though it was seen as a risky way to open a solo career, it has come to stand as her signature song.

It's a slow, aching ballad built from shimmering keyboards (Lennox, Lipson, Marius de Vries and Peter-John Vettese all have hands on them), a touch of Lipson's guitar and even Vettese's recorder, with Lennox's voice cool and controlled until it isn't. It reached number five in the UK and topped the chart in Italy, where Sophie Muller shot the video. That clip won Best Female Video at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song took the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 1993.

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	#	Station	Countdown	of
1992	19	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992	107
1992	20	91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana	91X Top 91 Songs of 1992	91
1992	19	Q101 Chicago, IL	Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992	101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1999	646	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	646	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	654	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2001	1558	WFPK	WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time	2000
2002	654	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2003	654	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	654	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2004	700	WXPN	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004)	885
2005	654	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2007	516	WTMD	WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time	897
2009	391	WYEP	WYEP 913 Essential Songs	913
2009	503	WXPN	WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009)	885
2016	795	WYEP	WYEP 913 Countdown 2016	913
2020	1806	WXPN	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time	2020
2021	560	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s	908
2024	488	WYEP	WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years	1049
2026	443	WYEP	WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time	1180

Also listed as: Why?.

Charting alongside it in 1992

Best songs of 1992 →

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