"Why Does It Hurt So Bad" is a song recorded by American singer and actress Whitney Houston for the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale. It was released on July 22, 1996, by Arista Records as the seventh and final single from the accompanying soundtrack. The song was written and produced solely by Babyface. Musically, it is an R&B ballad, and the lyrics chronicle a lovelorn lament. The song garnered positive reviews from critics, who commended Houston's vocal effort. It charted in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-six. It also reached a peak position of number twenty-two in the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number six on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the song reached a peak of number forty-five on the RPM Singles chart. Although there is no official music video for the song, a performance of the song at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards was taped and is used as a promotional clip. The song was later included as a medley, in her My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999), along with a few other songs. Background Houston starred in the 1995 romance film Waiting to Exhale, directed by Forest Whitaker. Although Houston did not intend to contribute to the film's soundtrack, when Whitaker hired Babyface to score the soundtrack, she opted in. Babyface, Houston and some other African-American female singers recorded songs for the album. The song was one of the final additions to the soundtrack. "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" was originally written by Babyface for Houston, two years prior to the release of Waiting to Exhale, but Houston refused to record it at that time. "I wasn't really in the mood for singing about why it hurts so bad," said Houston. Two years later, according to Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly, the emotions of the movie merged with the real-life circumstances of Houston's troubled marriage to Bobby Brown. "Now, I'm ready to sing not only the joys of things, but the pains of things, also," Houston explained. Composition "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" is an R&B ballad. The song was written and produced by Kenneth Brian Edmonds, popularly known as "Babyface". According to the sheet music book for The Greatest Hits at Sheetmusicplus.com, the song is written in the key of B major, and moves at a tempo of 69 beats per minute. It is set