Songfacts®:

• This new-wave-ish ballad was penned by Pink, along with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Johan Shellback. It was originally earmarked for Pink's Funhouse album, but didn't make it onto the record.
• Lambert told Entertainment Weekly: "It works on a relationship level, but I also relate to the sense of talking to the public. Like, 'This whole thing's a little freaked out, but please have faith in me, because I won't disappoint you.'"
• In 2010 Pink's recording was included on her first greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits… So Far!!!. Much of the instrumentation is the same as on Lambert's version, however she tweaked the chorus, changing it from "It messed me up" to "He messed me up."
• Lambert recalled to The Hollywood Reporter: "I recorded 'Whataya Want From Me' on a day off from the Idols Live Arena tour and I was pretty wiped out due to the show schedule. I knew the song would be a key track on my album and it was my first time working with the incredible Max Martin and Shellback, so I was a bit apprehensive. The vocal ad libs at the end were the most challenging as they are quite high and it had been a long day. When I heard the first mix, I felt really confident the song would have success thanks to the flawless production."