"Why Not Us" is a song recorded by
German pop trio
Monrose. It was written by English songwriters
Alexis Strum and
Guy Chambers
Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams.
Education
Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...
and produced by the latter along with frequent Monrose collaborator
Pete Kirtley for the band's third studio album ''
I Am'' (2008). A midtempo
contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...
-
pop ballad with soft
electro pop elements, "Why Not Us" is about a tumbling relationship which ultimately breaks up.
The song was released by
Starwatch Music as the album's third and final single on 28 November 2008. It debuted and peaked at number 27 in Germany, becoming the group's lowest-charting single up to then, and failed to reach the upper half of the
Austrian Singles Chart. An accompanying music video, directed by Markus Gerwinat, was filmed at the
Orangery Palace in the
Sanssouci Park of
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
.
Background
"Why Not Us" was written by British songwriters
Guy Chambers
Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams.
Education
Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...
and
Alexis Strum,
and produced by the former, with frequent Monrose collaborator
Pete Kirtley credited as a co-producer.
Recorded by
Mandy Capristo,
Senna Gammour, and
Bahar Kızıl for the band's third studio album ''
I Am'' (2008), "Why Not Us" is a midtempo
contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...
-
pop ballad that is about a tumbling relationship which ultimately breaks up.
Band member
Bahar Kizil called "Why Not Us" a "winter song."
Chart performance
"Why Not Us" was released by
Starwatch Music as the album's third and final single on 28 November 2008. Initially selected by the label as the album's second single,
Monrose reportedly disliked the idea of issuing the song as a single and only agreed to release it after Starwatch offered to release "
Hit 'N' Run" as the album's second single beforehand.
"Why Not Us" eventually debuted and peaked at number 27 on the
German Singles Chart in the week of 12 December 2008, becoming Monrose's first single to miss the top 20.
It also failed to reach the top 50 in Austria.
Music video
A music video for "Why Not Us" was directed by frequent Monrose collaborator Oliver Sommer and produced by AVA Studios.
It was released online and through televion channels on 14 November 2008.
The visuelas show the trio in black dresses in an autumn set, featuring visual elements from the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
age. Portions of the video were filmed at the
Orangery Palace in the
Sanssouci Park of
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
, with Westlicher Eckpavillion and Jubiläumsterrasse serving as main filming locations.
Intercut are solo performances and group scenes that were filmed in front of a
green screen and depict Capristo, Gammour, and Kızıl in various settings.
Track listings
Notes
*
denotes co-producer
*
denotes additional producer
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Strictly Physical''.
*Keith Beauvais –
keyboards
*
Guy Chambers
Guy Antony Chambers (born 12 January 1963) is an English songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work with Robbie Williams.
Education
Chambers attended Quarry Bank Comprehensive School sixth form in Liverpool. From 18, ...
– instruments, producer, writer
*
Mandy Capristo – vocals
*
Senna Gammour – vocals
*
Pete Kirtley – co-producer
*
Bahar Kizil – vocals
*Paul Stanborough – engineer, original programming
*Seb Stone – backing vocals
*
Alexis Strum – backing vocals, writer
*Ren Swan – recording engineer
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2008 singles
Monrose songs
Songs written by Guy Chambers
2008 songs
Song recordings produced by Guy Chambers