Synopsis

El DeBarge performs "Who's Johnny" as a witness in a surreal courtroom case centered on Johnny 5, the sentient robot from *Short Circuit*. While a prosecutor repeatedly demands to know Johnny's identity, El sings from the witness stand and film footage is presented as evidence. Ally Sheedy appears as Stephanie Speck, while Johnny 5 causes unseen chaos around the courtroom, tampering with the proceedings through a series of comic mechanical pranks.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made as a direct promotional tie-in to *Short Circuit*, turning the film's robot protagonist into the subject of a mock legal investigation.
• El DeBarge appears in the role of Ben Jabituya, the character played by Fisher Stevens in the film, rather than simply performing in a separate pop-video setting.
• Steve Guttenberg's character, Newton Crosby, is represented in the courtroom by a cardboard cutout.
• "Who's Johnny" was DeBarge's debut solo single after leaving the family group DeBarge. Released on April 8, 1986, it reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Hot R&B Singles chart.
• The song was written by Peter Wolf and Ina Wolf and appeared on El DeBarge's 1986 debut solo album.
• The song's connection to the film was reinforced in the closing moments of *Short Circuit*, when Number 5 hears it on the radio and adopts the name Johnny 5.
• "Who's Johnny" later received a novelty answer-song treatment in Weird Al Yankovic's "Here's Johnny," a parody associated with the same 1980s pop-culture moment.