"Tell Me Why" is a 1989 song by the American girl group

Girl group

A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...

 Exposé

Exposé (band)

Exposé is an American vocal group. Primarily consisting of lead vocalists Ann Curless, Jeanette Jurado, and Gioia Bruno, the group achieved much of their success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, becoming the first group to have four top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart from their debut...

. It was written and produced by the group's founder, Lewis Martineé

Lewis Martineé

Lewis Antonio Martineé is a freestyle music producer and former DJ based in Miami, Florida. In addition to founding the girl group Exposé in 1984, he also wrote and produced all of the songs on its first two albums, Exposure and What You Don't Know . He also contributed to the group's third...

. The song was included on Exposé's second album, What You Don't Know. Lead vocals on "Tell Me Why" were sung by Gioia Bruno

Gioia Bruno

Gioia Bruno is an Italian-born American popular music singer, most noted as a member of the vocal group Exposé.-Early life and career:...

.

Reception

Released as the third single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from What You Don't Know, "Tell Me Why" continued a successful streak for the group on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 chart when it peaked at #9 in early 1990. It was Exposé's seventh consecutive top ten hit on the Hot 100, dating back to "Come Go with Me

Come Go with Me (Exposé song)

"Come Go with Me" is a single by the freestyle girl group Exposé. The song was written by producer and group founder Lewis Martineé and appears on their 1987 debut album, Exposure. Jeanette Jurado sang the lead vocal on "Come Go with Me"....

" in April 1987. Remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

es of the song were popular in U.S. dance clubs, allowing it to reach #3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play

Hot Dance Club Play

The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

 chart, the group's fifth top ten single on this survey. The song reached the lower region of the UK Singles Chart

UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, spending one week at #97.

Music video

The music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

 shows the members of Exposé lip-synching the song interspersed with scenes implying urban gang violence. Lyrics such as Give me a reason for all this senseless crime / We can change it, why they have to die support an ultimate message of appealing to stop these sorts of activities. The video concludes with images of children playing and singing together on a playground.

U.K. 12" vinyl

A1 - "Tell Me Why" 12" Remix (6:28)

B1 - "Tell Me Why" Extended Remix (6:38)

B2 - "Let Me Down Easy" (4:07)

Charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	9
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...	26
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	97

External links

• U.K. 12" single info from discogs.com