"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" is a song recorded by American singer and actress

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

for the 1995 film '' Waiting to Exhale''. It was released on July 22, 1996, by

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

as the seventh and final single from the accompanying

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

. The song was written and produced solely by Babyface. Musically, it is an R&B ballad, and the lyrics chronicle a lovelorn

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

. The song garnered positive reviews from critics, who commended Houston's vocal effort. It charted in the United States on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-six. It also reached a peak position of number twenty-two in the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and number six on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart. In Canada, the song reached a peak of number forty-five on the ''RPM'' Singles chart. Although there is no official music video for the song, a performance of the song at the

1996 MTV Movie Awards The 1996 MTV Movie Awards was hosted by Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo. Performers * Whitney Houston — " Why Does It Hurt So Bad" * Garbage — " Only Happy When It Rains" * Roberta Flack and Fugees — " Killing Me Softly" * Adam Sandler ...

was taped and is used as a promotional clip. The song was later included as a medley, in her My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999), along with a few other songs.

Background

Houston starred in the 1995 romance film '' Waiting to Exhale'', directed by Forest Whitaker. Although Houston did not intend to contribute to the film's soundtrack, when Whitaker hired Babyface to score the soundtrack, she opted in. Babyface, Houston and some other African-American female singers recorded songs for the album. The song was one of the final additions to the soundtrack. "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" was originally written by Babyface for Houston, four years prior to the release of ''Waiting to Exhale'', but Houston refused to record it at that time. "I wasn't really in the mood for singing about why it hurts so bad," said Houston. Two years later, according to Chris Willman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', the emotions of the movie merged with the real-life circumstances of Houston's troubled marriage to Bobby Brown. "Now, I'm ready to sing not only the joys of things, but the pains of things, also," Houston explained.

Composition

"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" is an R&B

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

. The song was written and produced by Kenneth Brian Edmonds, popularly known as "Babyface". According to the sheet music book for ''The Greatest Hits'' at Sheetmusicplus.com, the song is written in the key of B major, and moves at a tempo of 69

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. It is set in

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of common time and features a basic

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of B/E–Em–Cm–G₇. Houston's vocals span from the note of Am₇ to the note of D₅. According to Stephen Holden of ''

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'', the song is a "lovelorn lament with a realistic twist". He noted that, through the verses, the singer congratulates herself for breaking up with an abusive boyfriend and admits that she is still in love.

Reception

"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" garnered mainly positive reviews from critics. Craig Lytle of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

noted that Houston's voice "sailed" through the song. Larry Flick of ''Billboard'' felt that it should have been released as the follow-up single to " Exhale (Shoop Shoop)". He added, "Paired with Babyface, Houston is positively luminous on hisheartbreak

, performing with a perfect blend of theatrical melodrama and guttural soul". A writer for ''

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'' noted that the song was "understated". Steve Knopper of ''

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'' wrote, "It's lower-key and the singer, who also stars in the film, doesn't feel compelled to perform constant vocal feats." Cary Darling of '' Rome News-Tribune'' gave a negative review. She said that " heballad 'Why Does It Hurt So Bad' is orestandard Whitney-fare". Deborah Wilker of '' South Florida Sun-Sentinel'' was mixed in her review, commenting that the song was a "predictably histrionic follow-up" to "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)". Nick Krewen of ''

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'' was even less enthusiastic, writing " ..the two guaranteed hitney Houstonhits – 'Exhale (Shoop Shoop)' and 'Why Does It Hurt So Bad' – don't really offer anything new." Christopher John Farley of ''TIME'' stated that Houston "particularly held her own", with a "masterly balance of pop, zip, and soulful melancholy". Released as the seventh and final single from the ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', the song debuted at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, on the issue dated August 3, 1996. On the same issue, the song debuted at number 34 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. The song later reached a peak of number 26 on the Hot 100, and 22 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. It also reached number six on the Adult Contemporary chart, while reaching a peak of 39 on the Adult Pop Songs chart. In Canada, the song debuted at number 98 on the ''RPM'' Singles chart, on the July 22, 1996 issue. Later, on the September 15, 1996 issue, it reached a peak of number 45.

Music video and live performances

The song was not promoted through an official music video, although Houston appeared at the

held at Walt Disney Studios, Burbank and performed "Why Does It Hurt So Bad". The performance was directed and taped by Bruce Gowers and was later used as a promotional clip to accompany the song. The performance features Houston sitting on a chair, wearing a white outfit, and singing the song. Houston performed the song on her My Love Is Your Love World Tour, in 1999. The song was performed as a part of the "Movie Medley", along with " I Believe in You and Me", "It Hurts Like Hell", originally performed by

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

, and " I Will Always Love You". This performance was taped in Sopot,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, on August 22, 1999 and broadcast on Polish television channel, TVP1.

Track listing

*US CD 1 #"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" lbum Version– 4:37 #"I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" unior's Happy Hand Bag Mix– 9:02 *US CD 2 #"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" lbum Version– 4:37 #"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" ive from the 1996 MTV Movie Awards– 5:34 #"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" unior's Happy Hand Bag Mix– 9:02 #"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" unior's X-Beat Dub– 8:05

Credits and personnel

Retrieved from CD

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 ...

;Why Does It Hurt So Bad *Brad Gilderman – vocals recorder * Babyface –

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, vocals producer,

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 ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, background vocals *Jon Gass – mixer *Kevon Edmonds – background vocals *Marc Nelson – background vocals ;Why Does It Hurt So Bad (Live) *Babyface – writer *Rickey Minor – producer *Whitney Houston – vocals, producer * Bill Schnee – mixer *John Hendrickson – mixer assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Why Does It Hurt So BadWhy Does It Hurt So Bad
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1996 singles 1995 songs Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers Songs written by Babyface (musician) Whitney Houston songs Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) Soul ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Songs about heartache