Songfacts®:

• This clubby tune has a lyric by Ester Dean, who contributed to eight tracks on Rihanna's Talk That Talk album. She wrote it along with the song's producers: hitmaker Dr. Luke, who produced many singles for Katy Perry and Britney Spears, and Calvin Harris, the Scottish DJ behind the album's first single, "We Found Love." The song finds Rihanna asking the question that's on her mind: how to find someone to love her all night long.
• "Where Have You Been" borrows elements from Australian songwriter Geoff Mack's 1959 song "I've Been Everywhere," which three years later became a country hit for Hank Snow with revised Americanized lyrics.
• This is a song that is solidly grounded in pop songwriting while borrowing heavily from dance music. Similar to music by Lady Gaga and Ellie Goulding, it fuses superstar appeal with danceable upbeat music, all tied together by anthemic lyrics that revolve around love.
  
  The song establishes its presence immediately by foregoing a traditional intro, opting instead to launch directly into the verse. Coupled with several other traditional elements slightly rearranged, such as a pair of back to back pre-choruses, this creates music that feels both excitingly new and comfortably familiar at the same time.
  
  Rihanna's vocals create a tense, emotional atmosphere, while the progression of the song builds up and releases tension over and over, creating a series of strong hooks for the listener. The synthesized production and heavy bass are both restlessly arranged, with some new element entering the mix every 15 seconds. This makes sure we never get bored with the tune and keeps the energy level up. The core melody is both simple and catchy, inviting listeners to sing along, working toward creating a more memorable piece of music. The extremely smooth production and smart dance music elements make this a powerful, fresh slice of Pop that lodges itself deeply into your head even on a first listen.
• Rihanna performed the song for the first time live on February 13, 2012 at the Post-Grammy Charity Fundraiser, along with her other Calvin Harris collaboration, "We Found Love."
• Talk That Talk was Rihanna's sixth album. "We Found Love" got it off to a great start - that song went to #1 just about everywhere it was released. "You Da One," "Birthday Cake," and the title track were the next singles, followed by "Where Have You Been," which entered the charts right away thanks to digital downloads, the format of choice in 2012.
  
  Around this time, Rihanna did some features as well, appearing on Coldplay's "Princess Of China" and Drake's "Take Care."
• The music video was filmed March 7 and 8, 2012 in Los Angeles and directed by Dave Meyers, best known for his work with Pink. It finds Rihanna emerging from a marsh and dancing energetically in a rock-filled desert landscape with tribal dancers. The Bajan singer collaborated with choreographer Nadine "Hi-Hat" Ruffin on the African-inspired dance moves.
  
  "This one is just all about performance," Rihanna said of the visual. "It's all about evoking emotion through your body. I was never going to shoot this video if I wasn't going to do choreography 'cause it would be pretty pointless. It would be disappointing."
• The video set a new Vevo record for the most views in a 24-hour period. It had 4.9 million views during its first day on the site.
• Rihanna included this song in her halftime set at the 2023 Super Bowl, her first performance since the Grammy Awards in 2018. She looked a little different, and indeed, after the show she revealed that she was pregnant with her second child.