Whatever It Is

"Whatever It Is" a song recorded by Zac Brown Band, an American country music group. It is the second single release from the 2008 album The Foundation and the band's second Top 3 hit on the Billboard country singles charts. The song is the follow-up to the band's number-one debut single "Chicken Fried".

"Whatever It Is"
Single by Zac Brown Band
from the album The Foundation
Released	January 19, 2009
Genre	Country
Length	3:29
Label	Atlantic/Home Grown/Big Picture
Songwriter(s)	Zac Brown Wyatt Durrette
Producer(s)	Zac Brown Keith Stegall
Zac Brown Band singles chronology
"Chicken Fried" (2008) "Whatever It Is" (2009) "Toes" (2009)
Music video
"Whatever It Is" on YouTube

Content

"Whatever It Is" was co-written by Zac Brown and Wyatt Durrette, with whom Brown also co-wrote the band's debut single "Chicken Fried".^[1] In it, the male narrator expresses his love for his female partner by saying that "she's got whatever it is". He also says that whenever he tries to express his feelings for her, "it comes out 'I love you'".

Music Video

The video features Canadian and American actress Emmanuelle Chriqui.

Critical reception

Although he said that it was his "second least-favorite" song on the album, Dan Milliken of Country Universe gave "Whatever It Is" a B− rating. He said that the song sounded "mostly genuine" but at the same time, "too nice to be completely memorable" because it lacked a sense of urgency.^[2] Ken Tucker gave a favorable review in Billboard, saying that the song "is a love song, pure and simple, meshing a traditional fiddle-laden sound and modern country harmonies, as lead singer Brown at times channels James Taylor".^[3]

Use In Media

• The song was used on Local On The 8s in February to May 2013 on The Weather Channel.

Chart performance

"Whatever It Is" debuted at No. 54 on the Hot Country Songs chart for the chart week of January 24, 2009.^[4] It peaked at No. 2 on the charts. On the Billboard Year-End chart, "Whatever It Is" ranked at No. 2 as well.^[5]

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Canada Country (Billboard)[6]	7
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7]	72
US Billboard Hot 100[8]	26
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9]	2

Year-end charts

Charts (2009)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100	94[10]
US Country Songs (Billboard)[11]	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[12]	2× Platinum	2,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Deming, Mark. "The Foundation review". Allmusic. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
2. Milliken, Dan (January 23, 2009). ""Whatever It Is" review". Country Universe. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
3. Tucker, Ken (January 28, 2009). ""Whatever It Is" review". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
4. ""Whatever It Is" chart debut". Billboard. January 24, 2009. Retrieved June 24, 2009. ^{[dead link‍]}
5. "Billboard Year-End chart for 2009". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
6. "Zac Brown Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
7. "Zac Brown Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
8. "Zac Brown Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
9. "Zac Brown Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
10. "Year End Charts – Year-end songs – The Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
11. "Best of 2009: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2009. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
12. "American single certifications – Zac Brown Band – Whatever It Is". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 16, 2017.

External links

• Music video at CMT.com