"What Do You Want" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist Jerrod Niemann. It was released in October 2010 as the second single from his album '' Judge Jerrod & the Hung Jury''. The song is his second top 40 hit on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts, following his number-one single " Lover, Lover".

Content

The song is about a phone call received from a former girlfriend with whom the narrator has broken up. In an interview with CMT, he said that he wrote the song from an experience he had with a former girlfriend who had moved to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He said that after breaking up with her, writing "What Do You Want" helped him "climb out of the funk". The song features

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, percussion and an

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

. Niemann wrote it with Richie Brown and Rachel Bradshaw, the daughter of

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quarterback

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...

, who also sings a backing vocal on it.

Critical reception

Karlie Justus of ''Engine 145'' gave the song a "thumbs up" in her review. She said that the song "relies on emotion over production" and thought that the lyrics and production had "oddly comforting repetition". Matt Bjorke of ''Roughstock'' rated the song four stars out of five, calling it a "moody, emotive piece of music" and thought that it showed Niemann's voice more strongly than "Lover, Lover" did.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by

Chris Hicky Chris Hicky is a writer/director from Forrest City, Arkansas, United States, best known for directing many of Keith Urban's music videos. Hicky has also directed videos for many other artists in the country music genre, including Dierks Bentley ...

, was filmed at a mansion in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. It was recorded in black and white. Niemann said that the video is "sort of abstract" because he wanted to leave parts of the storyline to the viewer's imagination. Rachel Bradshaw also plays the girlfriend in the video.

Chart performance

"What Do You Want" debuted at number 49 on the

chart dated for the week ending October 9, 2010. The song is Niemann's second top 40 hit on this chart. In April 2011, the song received a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

certification from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. That same month, it peaked at number 4 on the country chart.

Year-end charts

References

{{Jerrod Niemann 2010 singles Jerrod Niemann songs Arista Nashville singles Music videos directed by Chris Hicky Songs written by Jerrod Niemann 2010 songs