"I Have Questions" is a song by American singer and songwriter

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...

. It was released on May 22, 2017, by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

and

Syco Syco Entertainment is a British media entertainment and production company, headquartered in London, founded and owned by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell. The company focuses on TV production. The company was formed in 2 ...

. It was first featured as an intro on the music video for her debut single "

Crying in the Club "Crying in the Club" is the debut solo single by American singer and songwriter Camila Cabello. It was released on May 19, 2017, by Epic Records and Syco. It was written by Cabello, Sia, Benny Blanco and Happy Perez, with production handled b ...

". It was written by Cabello with

Bibi Bourelly Badriia Ines "Bibi" Bourelly (born 14 July 1994) is a German singer and songwriter signed to Def Jam Recordings. She has co-written several notable songs including Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money" and " Higher", Demi Lovato's "Anyone" and ...

and

Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums, One Direction, and Miley Cyrus, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for G ...

, who also produced, recorded and programmed the track. Cabello wrote the song while she was still touring with her then-group

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, is an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and formerly Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signed a ...

. It was the first song she wrote for her debut album, inspiring the direction of the project that was then called ''The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving.'' According to her, this was "The Hurting" part of the album. The song, however, was not included in the final standard track listing after the album's re-imagination. It is included in the Japan limited pressing of Cabello's debut studio album '' Camila'' (2018) as a bonus track, and is the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

single of her solo debut "Crying in the Club". "I Have Questions" is built around melancholic lyrics. The singer does not understand why her friend has betrayed her and has questions for them. Its dark production features a prominent

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

line and

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

beats that begin after the second

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

. On its release, the song charted in Spain, Portugal and France. Cabello performed the song at the 2017 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, the 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards and ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

''.

Background and release

In 2012, Cabello auditioned as a solo contestant on the American version of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''. After failing as a soloist, she was selected to compete on the show in a group with four other contestants. Together, they formed

, finished third in the competition, and then signed a joint record deal with

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

's label

Syco Records Syco Music, originally S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment which operated from 2002 until 2020. The label was founded by British entrepreneur, record executive and media personality Simon Cowell, who was formerly employed at Bertels ...

and

L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Mus ...

's label

. Cabello collaborated as a member of the group for three years, releasing two studio albums, an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

and eight singles. According to

Nielsen Soundscan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

, the group had sold more than seven million digital downloads in the United States before her departure in December 2016. While touring to promote their second album ''

7/27 ''7/27'' is the second studio album by American girl group Fifth Harmony, released by Syco Music and Epic Records on May 27, 2016. The record is the follow-up to the group's debut studio album '' Reflection'' (2015). Its lyrics discuss themes ...

'' (2016), Cabello felt lonely and sad and wrote songs to express her feelings and to help her to get negative things "off her chest". She wrote "I Have Questions" in a hotel bathroom during a very low moment of her life. She explained in May 2017: In an interview with '' Latina'' magazine, she commented on her decision to leave Fifth Harmony and her future plans saying: "I needed to follow my heart and my artistic vision. I'm grateful for everything we had in Fifth Harmony and for his newopportunity. I am less focused on success and more on doing my best and pursuing my artistic vision to the fullest, wherever that takes me." In early 2017, she started recording her solo debut album which she titled ''The Hurting. The Healing. The Loving''. During recording sessions, Cabello returned to writing "I Have Questions", forcing herself to confront her feelings. The results inspired Cabello to keep writing songs where she could express her feelings, making music that was helping her to "heal". As she explained in a message posted on social media: "I realized I wasn't making music just to make an album anymore, I was making this music to heal, it wasn't until I had made enough songs to listen back to and realized I could hear myself coming back through these songs. I didn't write it with the intention of delivering a message, but I realized the message was in ''the hurting, the healing, and the loving.''" In May 2017, she finally teased her first solo material revealing the title of the album, and a release date for her first solo single, "

". It was released on May 19, 2017, along with its music video, which features an intro that incorporates the lines from the first verse of "I Have Questions". On May 22, she published the lyric video for the song. It was later released to music stores and streaming services. However, later in the year, Cabello announced that the album's title would be changed and all the previously released material, including "I Have Questions", would not be included on the final cut. The album's new title was ''Camila''. In interview with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

for

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

, Cabello explained that she no longer felt those songs represented the artist she had become. She confirmed that the only previously released track appearing on the album would be "

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Composition and lyrics

"I Have Questions" has a dark, melancholic sound with themes of abandonment and the acknowledgement that a former companion was not who they appeared to be. Cabello has explained that the song is about a friendship that went awry, adding that she wrote it with one person in mind, but there are others to whom the song is directed. As the song title implies, the singer has many questions for the song's subject. Throughout the song, she expresses her confusion, looking for answers and explanations. As the song opens, she airs out her feelings in the first verse, over a soft

line, "Why did you leave me here to burn? / I'm way too young to be this hurt / I feel doomed in hotel rooms / Staring straight up at the wall / Counting wounds and I am trying to numb them all / Do you care? / Why don't you care?" Singing the second verse, Cabello wonders how someone could cut her so deeply: "Number one, tell me who you think you are / You got some nerve trying to tear my faith apart / Number two, why would you try and play me for a fool? / I should have never ever ever trusted you." The song continues with

beats and

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock music, rock, popular music, pop, jazz, an ...

reminiscent of

trap music Trap music, also known simply as trap, is a subgenre of hip-hop music which originated in the Southern United States, with lyrical references to trap starting in 1991 but the modern sound of trap appearing in 1999. The genre gets its name from t ...

. Lucas Villa from

AXS AXS may refer to: Anschutz Entertainment Group * AXS (company), primary ticket platform developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). * AXS TV, a cable channel partially owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Other * Access (group), a Japa ...

noted that instead of "staying a victim", Cabello expresses herself as a "survivor on this haunting and honest interrogation session". Mike Pell of

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

felt that the song's production recalls

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

' "

Everytime "Everytime" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'' (2003). It was released as the third single from ''In the Zone'' on May 10, 2004, by Jive Records. After her relationship with Justin Timber ...

" (2004). ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s Althea Legaspi wrote that Cabello sings with "raw emotion".

Reception

Reviewing ''Camila'',

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire (born 1970) is a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec, in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain in ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' commented on the change of the material for the album. She felt the exclusion of "I Have Questions" was "unexpected" as she views the song as "excellent".

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...

of ''

'' magazine, described it as "brooding" and praised its stripped-down production, while Taylor Weatherby of ''Billboard'' characterized it as "poignant". On its release, "I Have Questions" had minimal commercial success. It debuted at number 94 in France, number 82 in Portugal and peaked at number nine in Spain — Cabello's third top ten on the Spanish chart. In the United States, the song did not appear on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, only managing to chart on the US

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

at number 24.

Live performances

Cabello performed "I Have Questions" as an introduction to "Crying in the Club" at the 2017 ''Billboard'' Music Awards on May 21, 2017. Following the event, she performed the whole song during a special encore performance on

Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...

. For this performance, Cabello dressed in white on a dark stage with red petals surrounding her. She also performed the song at the 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards, and on ''

'' on May 31, 2017. Mike Nied of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

'' described it as an "impactful performance that featured strong vocals".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''

''. Publishing * Published by Sony/ATV Songs LLC ( BMI) O/b/O Sony ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd./Maidmetal Limited (

PRS PRS or prs may refer to: Science and technology * Peripheral Reflex System, an implementation of autonomous peripheral operations in microcontrollers * Personal response system, in audience response * Phenotypic response surfaces, in medicine * P ...

)/Milamoon Songs (BMI) // EMI April Music, Inc. (

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

) O/b/O itself and Aidenjulius Music (ASCAP) // BMG Gold Songs (ASCAP)/Arjouni Publishing (ASCAP) Recording and management * Recorded at the Big Cage,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Mixed at MixStar Studios,

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

* Mastered at the Mastering Palace, New York City, New York *

appears courtesy of

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

Personnel *

–

songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Bibi Bourelly – songwriting,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

Frank Dukes Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), better known as Ging and by his former stage name Frank Dukes, is a Canadian musician, record producer, and songwriter. A prolific producer, he has worked with artists including Lorde for ''Melodrama'' ...

– additional production *

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing * Dave Kutch – mastering *

– songwriting,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

* John Hanes –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Sam Dent – additional engineering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010s ballads 2017 songs Camila Cabello songs Songs written by Camila Cabello Songs written by Jesse Shatkin Songs written by Bibi Bourelly Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin