"Whatever It Is" a song recorded by

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulel ...

, an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group. It is the second single release from the 2008 album '' The Foundation'' and the band's second Top 3 hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country singles charts. The song is the follow-up to the band's number-one debut single "

Chicken Fried "Chicken Fried" is a song by American country music group Zac Brown Band, which frontman Zac Brown co-wrote with Wyatt Durrette. The song was first recorded in 2003 for the 2005 album ''Home Grown''. A second version was then released in 2006 by ...

Content

"Whatever It Is" was co-written by

Zac Brown Zachry Alexander Brown (born July 31, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and co-founder and lead singer of the country–rock Zac Brown Band, as well as electronic dance music group Sir Rosevelt. In 2019, Brown released a pop su ...

and

Wyatt Durrette Wyatt Beazley Durrette Jr. (born February 21, 1938) is an American attorney and former politician. He served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates as a Republican, from 1972 to 1978, and was the party's unsuccessful nominee for governor ...

, with whom Brown also co-wrote the band's debut single "

". 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'".

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. Ken Tucker gave a favorable review in ''

'', 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 James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

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 Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart for the chart week of January 24, 2009. It peaked at No. 2 on the charts. On the Billboard Year-End chart, "Whatever It Is" ranked at No. 2 as well.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Music video
at CMT.com {{Zac Brown Band 2009 singles Zac Brown Band songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Bigger Picture Music Group singles 2008 songs Songs written by Zac Brown Songs written by Wyatt Durrette (songwriter)