of D4 to the high-note of G5. The song has a basic chord progression of C/F–C/G–C/F–C/G. "Whatever It Takes" was described as an adult alternative/pop rock song. It was described as a "power ballad" by John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout, who also noted that there was "growth in songwriting and artistry to keep Lifehouse a band well worth following". Alex Lai of Contactmusic.com described the song as "brooding [song]" that features "a huge chorus" and noted how the ballads on the album, including "Whatever It Takes", were "amongst the best the band has produced". Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today felt that the song was "commendable for showing the need to remain committed and open to sustain a relationship". Paul Schultz of The Trades described the song as having "some dandy harmony vocals" and noted how the lyrics of "She said like it or not it's the way it's gotta be / You gotta love yourself if you can ever love me" talked about how people try to work out relationships. Chart performance "Whatever It Takes" debuted at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week of February 2, 2008. It moved up the chart for several weeks, until peaking at number 33. The song debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart and eventually peaked at number 28 after being on the chart for 19 non-consecutive weeks. On the Billboard Pop Songs chart, the song debuted at number 40 for the week of January 26, 2008. After moving up the chart for 20 consecutive weeks, the song eventually peaked at number 17. The song debuted at number 74 on the Billboard Radio Songs chart for the week of March 8, 2008 and moved around the chart for several weeks until peaking at number 36. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song debuted at number 30 for the week of April 26, 2008. After being on the chart for 33 consecutive weeks, the song peaked at number 10 for three weeks in a row. "Whatever It Takes" also debuted on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs at number 22 and eventually peaked at number three. Music video The music video, directed by Frank Borin, premiered on Yahoo! Music on November 15, 2007. Later that day, it was also released to iTunes for digital download. According to the behind-the-scenes video, the song features the use of pyrotechnics all