"Why" is a song recorded by American singer Sabrina Carpenter included on the Japanese edition of Singular: Act I (2018). The track was written by Carpenter, Brett McLaughlin, and its producer Jonas Jeberg. The song was released on July 7, 2017, through Hollywood Records. "Why" has been described as a electropop, emo pop and dark pop song backed by a hypnotic synthesizer loop and a finger-click beat and slick beat at the chorus. According to Carpenter, the lyrics talks about her and a guy being completely opposite, but they’re made for each other. The song became Carpenter's second to enter the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 peaking at number twenty-one and was certified gold in the United States (RIAA).
It was accompanied by a music video directed by Jay Martin and filmed in New York City. It was released on Vevo channel on July 19, 2017. The music video begins with Carpenter and her love interest, Casey Cott, having a conversation where both don't have the same likes in movies. Carpenter promoted "Why" with several televised performances, including on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Live with Kelly and Ryan.
Background and recording
Carpenter teased the single release by sending postcards with handwritten notes and pieces of the artwork to fans. She also posted stills from romance movies on social media.
She told Billboard magazine that the song "happened very quickly". "We started with the first line of the song – 'You like New York City in the daytime; I like New York City in the night time' – and from there, the song kind of wrote itself. It's basically [about] these differences that we all have, that keep us different from one another but at the same time glue us together... I like to say it's very conversational, which some of my other songs haven't been before." She said that she "wanted this song to be able to take [fans] through the summer"."'Why' is a question we seem to pose daily, so there are multiple meanings within the song that are up to interpretation. We don’t necessarily need to be the same, to love the same. Sometimes differences can hold us together and I think that’s a beautiful sentiment to how we deal with divergence and how it can furthermore prove our compatibility. In the end, we don’t really need to know 'why' if we are confident in our own emotions," Carpenter told iHeartRadio.
In an interview with Music Choice, Carpenter said that she is very excited about the song, and that she wrote it "a few months back". She said that once "we found that line [the first line of the song] we started going off on finding these little things that make us different from each other but they're not deal breakers".
The song was written and recorded in March 2017 at Big Noize Studios (Hollywood Hills, California) by Carpenter, Brett McLaughlin and Jonas Jeberg. Jeberg produced, recorded and played all the instruments for the track. The song was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia and John Hanes served as a mix assistant. The song was mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City by Chris Gehringer.
Composition
"Why" is a two minutes and fifty-one seconds electropop, emo pop and dark pop song. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com the song is composed in the time signature of common time with a moderate rate of 90 beats per minute. It is written in the key of B minor and follows the chord progression of G2-Em7-Bm7-A. Sabrina's vocal range spans from the low note A3 to the high note of B4, giving the song almost one octave of range. The tempo is relaxed. Originally, the bridge was a second part of the second verse. The song is backed by a hypnotic synthesizer loop and a finger-click beat and a slick beat at the chorus.
Lyrically, "Why" talks about a romantic relationship consisting of two people who are completely opposite, but made for each other. Sabrina said that they started with the first line "You like New York City in the daytime / I like New York City in the nighttime" and once they found that line, they started going off on finding things that make people different from each other, but they’re not deal-breakers. In the line "Funny how the stars cross right" Carpenter is making a reference to Romeo and Juliet, once the song was inspired to a lot of films such as "When Harry Met Sally...", "Romeo and Juliet" and "10 Things I Hate About You".