Songfacts®:

• On "What Now," Brittany Howard unleashes a fiery storm, delivering a scathing goodbye to her ex. With a syncopated groove and a searing guitar line, Howard's raw vocals leave no room for misinterpretation: her future doesn't include her former flame.
  
  "'It's never my design to hurt anyone's feelings, but I needed to say what was on my mind without editing myself," said Howard. "I like how it's a song that makes you want to dance, but at the same time, the lyrics are brutal."
• Howard wrote "What Now" herself and co-produced it with Shawn Everett (The War On Drugs, The Killers), with whom she's had a creative relationship since Alabama Shakes. Recording took place at the legendary Sound Emporium and historic RCA Studio B in Nashville, Howard's hometown. "It was written during the pandemic when the question 'What now; was on all of our minds," explained Howard. "I think it is a feeling that has continued to the present moment in the world we live in."
• Directed by Danilo Parra (known for his collaborations with A$AP Rocky), the song's cinematic and action-packed video adds visual dynamism to Howard's narrative.
• "What Now" is the title track of Brittany Howard's second solo album. Nine weeks after she released it as the record's lead single on October 13, 2023, it climbed to the top of Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart. The song was Howard's second #1 on the survey, following "Stay High," which reigned for three weeks in 2019.