"Where Have You Been" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album, Talk That Talk (2011) serving as the fifth single. The song was written by Ester Dean, Geoff Mack, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Henry "Cirkut" Walter, and Calvin Harris, with production handled by the latter three. "Where Have You Been" was released as the third international single on April 17, 2012. The track is a dance-pop and techno house song that draws influence from trance, R&B and hip hop. It is backed by "hard, chilly synths" and contains an electro-inspired breakdown sequence. The song's lyrics interpolate Geoff Mack's 1959 song "I've Been Everywhere" and speak of a woman who is searching for a partner who will sexually please her.
"Where Have You Been" was met with positive reviews from most music critics, who likened the song to Talk That Talks lead single, "We Found Love". The track performed well on major international charts. In the United States, "Where Have You Been" reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Rihanna's twenty-second top ten single on the chart. It also peaked at number one in Mexico, on both the US Dance Club Songs and UK Dance Chart, and at number three on the US Pop Songs chart. In addition, it attained top five positions in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Israel and New Zealand, while peaking in the top ten of charts in twenty countries worldwide including Australia, Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom. The song is certified Platinum or higher in eight countries.
The song's accompanying music video, directed by Dave Meyers depicts the singer in an assortment of costumes and locations, referencing the song's lyrics. Rihanna is seen as a semi-naked water reptilian, in an Egyptian desert, an African themed hut, and channeling Hindu god Shiva with multiple limbs. The video received a positive response from critics, who praised Rihanna's new approach to deeper choreography. Rihanna has performed the song on both Saturday Night Live and the finale of the eleventh season of American Idol. Rihanna also performed the song at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in a medley with Only Girl (In the World).
The song was nominated for a 2013 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance.
Production and recording
"Where Have You Been" was written by Ester Dean, Geoff Mack, Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Calvin Harris, and Henry "Cirkut" Walter, with production, instrumentation, and programming also handled by the latter three. Mack's song "I've Been Everywhere" is interpolated throughout the song. Dean, Gottwald, Harris, and Walter have produced and/or co-written other songs on Talk That Talk: "We Found Love" for Harris, and "You da One" for Dean, Gottwald, and Walter.
"Where Have You Been" was recorded by Kuk Harrell and Marcus Tovar at Eightysevenfourteen Studios, Los Angeles, California and Eyeknowasecret Studio, Brentwood, California. Harrel and Tovar were also the vocals engineers and were assisted in the process by Jennifer Rosales. The engineers for the song in its entirety were Aubry "Big Juice" Delaine and Clint Gibbs. It was mixed by Serban Ghenea.
Composition and lyrics
"Where Have You Been" is a dance-pop and dance song, which blends elements of R&B, hip hop and house together. It also incorporates elements of trance music. As noted by Mark Graham for VH1, the song features a "sweeping, trance-ish transition that will bowl over dancefloor denizens in clubs all over the world." Randell Roberts for Los Angeles Times noted that "Rihanna wants her music to bang, and she does so by continuing to mine the connection between R&B, hip-hop and house." Jon Caramanica for The New York Times stated that the song is on the "poppier side of house music." The instrumentation is composed of "buzzy, burping electronics" and "hard, chilly synths." It also features a "monstrous bass", which will according to Graham "will make you want to trade in your factory-installed car speakers for a top-of-the-line sound system."
