Stronger (Kanye West song)
Encyclopedia
"Stronger" is a song by American
hip hop
artist Kanye West
, released as the second single from his third studio album Graduation
. It was produced by West and contains an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean
. The song contains a vocal sample of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
" by French house
duo Daft Punk
, who received songwriting credit and had their costumes appear in its accompanying music video. The single was first released digitally
on July 31, 2007 and soon became West's third number-one single. It won a Grammy Award
for Best Rap Solo Performance
at the 50th Grammy Awards
. As of June 2011, it has sold over 4,402,000 digital copies in the United States.
mixtape. Shortly afterwards, on May 31, 2007, Brendon Joshua played the full-length song on his podcast
. On June 27, 2007, "Stronger" was put onto the BBC Radio 1
Up-Front playlist and was later upgraded to the A-List a month prior to its release. The single's cover art was released on West's website on June 28, 2007. It was designed by Japan
ese artist Takashi Murakami
, whom West collaborated with to produce the artwork for Graduation
. The cover features a cartoon version of West's mascot "Dropout Bear" wearing sunglasses similar to the those West wears in the music video, as well as the small, robotic heads of Thomas Bangalter
and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
of Daft Punk
. West performed a partial version of "Stronger" live at the Concert for Diana
held at Wembley Stadium
on July 1, 2007 to a crowd of 63,000 people. An estimated 500 million people watched the event in over 140 countries worldwide.
The single was released to iTunes
on July 31, 2007. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
at number forty-seven and eventually peaked at the number-one position, the same week his album Graduation took the number one spot. It is West's third number-one single in the United States, following "Slow Jamz
" and "Gold Digger
." After becoming West's first number one single in the UK, "Stronger" went on to be met by widespread international success, reaching number-one in Canada
, Turkey
, and New Zealand
. The song was also met by critical recognition and was the recipient of multiple awards, including a Grammy Award
for Best Rap Solo Performance
. Daft Punk themselves made a surprise appearance at the 50th Grammy Awards
on February 10, 2008 to join West in performing a reworked version of the song on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. A press release specified that this was the very first televised live performance by Daft Punk in their career.
-infused hip-hop
song composed in the key of E-flat minor. It is written in common time
and moves at 104 beats per minute. The song is built around vocal sample of the 2001 house
song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
" by Daft Punk
. Following the introduction
, where a chopped sample of Daft Punk's robotic vocals is played continuously in the background at a decreased tempo
and pitch
, West raps the refrain
, which expresses Friedrich Nietzsche
's famous dictum, "What does not kill him, makes him stronger", as well as the hook
twice and enter the first verse. He repeats this process three more times, making slight alterations to the chorus
each time. He injects a "me likey" ad-lib after the hook in the second, repeats a line within the verse six times on the third, and recites the hook four times on the fourth. It is also within the fourth that the song breaks down
and enters an extended outro passage where the vocal sample is repeatedly played over a layered, complex patchwork of synth-beats and grooves before finally bring itself to a close.
West collaborated with Timbaland
to rework the drum programming and percussion for the final version of the song, which appears on the Graduation
album.
This version contains a master use of Edwin Birdsong
's "Cola Bottle Baby," the song that had been previously sampled by Daft Punk themselves to produce "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". The pre-album version of "Stronger", known to the public and being used by radio, television and other outlets, was the version used as the single. On October 4, 2007, a previously unreleased version of "Stronger" was revealed. This version retains a singular, unused verse from West, while the structure features less synthesizer chords and percussion. It is believed that this version was an early draft of the final song.
On July 3, 2007, West told Zane Lowe
on BBC Radio 1
that although he believes "Stronger" is a great song, it does not compare to the sampled original. Daft Punk were delighted upon first hearing the new song on Power 106
while on a San Francisco
flight. As Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
of the duo stated, "Our song had a good sound, but when [the radio DJ] put Kanye's record on, the sound was really fat. It sounds really big." The use of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was requested through Pedro Winter
, Daft Punk's manager at the time, and approved by the duo. De Homem-Christo also clarified that "It's not a collaboration in the studio, but the vibe of the music we do separately connected in what [West] did with the song." In a later interview, de Homem-Christo specified that the live performance of "Stronger" at the 50th Grammy Awards was "truly a collaboration from the start. We really did it all hand in hand."
magazine with Kanye West and Daft Punk presiding on the cover. This song was number 11 on Rolling Stone
' s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. This song was also number 96 on MTV Asia' s list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.
on the charting week of August 11, 2007 at number forty-seven, the highest debut single on the chart that week. Over the next eight weeks, the song steadily climbed upwards, reaching the number one position on the charting week of September 29, 2007, pushing the previous week's chart topper, Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)
" into the number two position. However, the following week, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" replaced "Stronger" atop the charts, making West's single reach its peak for only one week. As of June 2011, the single has sold over 4,402,000 digital copies in the US alone. The song debuted at number three in the United Kingdom
and rose to become West's very first British number one single. Climbing on downloads alone, it surpassed the prior week's number one single, Robyn
's "With Every Heartbeat
". It has also topped the Canadian Hot 100
, New Zealand, and the Turkish Singles charts. "Stronger" also spent 18 weeks on the German Singles Chart. The song ended 2007 as the 19th biggest-selling single in the United Kingdom of that year.
for "Stronger" was directed by Hype Williams
and shot over nine days in Japan
. It include shots filmed in Aoyama
-based clothing store A Bathing Ape
as well as Harajuku
clothing store Billionaire Boys Club
/Ice Cream. The video took over three months to complete. West first premiered a rough cut at the Tribeca Studios in New York City
on June 19, 2007. It made its public premiere on June 26, 2007, on MTV Germany's TRL
. The video was also shown on the BET
countdown show 106 & Park
on June 28, 2007.
The video features appearances by singer and model Cassie Ventura, a real-life Japanese motorcycle gang, and the two principal actors from the film Daft Punk's Electroma
dressed as Daft Punk
. The video also features multiple scenes which pay homage to the 1988 anime film Akira
. These include the light effects on the motorbikes, the hospital scenes and West being scanned by machines. Both West and Williams had originally planned to integrate scenes from the film into the video. West also wears a pair of Alain Mikli
sunglasses, which he requested from the designer specifically for the video. The sunglasses have since become a signature of West, who for a period of time often donned them during performances. The video was nominated two 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
for Video of the Year and Best Editing in a Video. It won Best Hip-Hop Video at the BET Hip-Hop Awards
as well as Best Video at the MOBO Awards
.
performed to this song in the finale of America's Best Dance Crew (season 1)
as their victory performance for being crowned champions. 30 Seconds to Mars
performed a cover version
of "Stronger" on BBC Radio 1
, which is featured on Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 2
and a UK release of the single "From Yesterday
". The cover features a slower tempo on guitar and omits the profanity, which was reworded by their lead singer Jared Leto
. Leto said that he "hoped that Kanye [was] okay" with the editing. The song can be heard for the promo of the 2007 film The Kingdom
. It can also be heard as the introductory song of the Baltimore Orioles
, Toronto Raptors
, New York Mets
, Texas Longhorns, Washington Wizards
, Cincinnati Reds
and Tampa Bay Rays
. Also, the New York Giants
entered the field to this song at Super Bowl XLII
and during most of their home games during the season. The New York Rangers
and Chicago Blackhawks
play it at every home game as well. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
for the 50th Grammy Awards
. It is also Featured in Season 4 Ep 4 of Entourage as background music in a night club. The A-Trak
remix of the song is used in an advert for the short-lived American TV show Bionic Woman
. This song is also used by Animal Planet
to promote their new show Jockeys
, appearing in commercials as well as being the series' opening theme. UK rapper Kano
has freestyled over this song on his mixtape MC No.1. The song also appeared on the trailer for the videogame Top Spin 4
.
In 2011 Stronger appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Hangover Part II and in the scene where the characters walk through the airport.
In 2011 , he sang the song he was scheduled to sing at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show but couldn't cause of his mothers death. Saying “In 2007, I was supposed to perform this song… then my mom passed away. She was my superhero – now she’s my super-angel.”
Promo 12" single
A-side
B-side
CD single (UK)
12" picture disc (UK)
iTunes Remixes single
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artist Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, released as the second single from his third studio album Graduation
Graduation (album)
Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 11, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York City and at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant...
. It was produced by West and contains an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean
Mike Dean (producer)
Mike Dean is an American hip-hop producer. He is known for pioneering the "Dirty South" sound in the 1990s, particularly in work for artists from Rap-A-Lot Records. Dean has most notably worked alongside Scarface of the Geto Boys, 2Pac, Do or Die, Tha Dogg Pound, Yukmouth of the Luniz, Outlawz,...
. The song contains a vocal sample of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk. The single was first released on 13 October 2001. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007. This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance...
" by French house
French house
French house is a catch-all term for house music by many French artists, a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music scene and a form of Euro disco. The genre has also been referred to as "neu-disco" , "French touch", "filter house" and "tekfunk" over the years...
duo Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
, who received songwriting credit and had their costumes appear in its accompanying music video. The single was first released digitally
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on July 31, 2007 and soon became West's third number-one single. It won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Rap Solo Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....
at the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
. As of June 2011, it has sold over 4,402,000 digital copies in the United States.
Background
A portion of "Stronger" was first released in May 2007 on West's Can't Tell Me NothingCan't Tell Me Nothing (mixtape)
Can't Tell Me Nothing: The Official Mixtape is a mixtape by American hip-hop artist Kanye West. It was made freely available over the internet on May 27, 2007 in anticipation of the release of his third studio album, Graduation.-Background:...
mixtape. Shortly afterwards, on May 31, 2007, Brendon Joshua played the full-length song on his podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
. On June 27, 2007, "Stronger" was put onto the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Up-Front playlist and was later upgraded to the A-List a month prior to its release. The single's cover art was released on West's website on June 28, 2007. It was designed by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese artist Takashi Murakami
Takashi Murakami
is an internationally prolific contemporary Japanese artist. He works in fine arts media—such as painting and sculpture—as well as what is conventionally considered commercial media —fashion, merchandise, and animation— and is known for blurring the line between high and low art...
, whom West collaborated with to produce the artwork for Graduation
Graduation (album)
Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 11, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York City and at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant...
. The cover features a cartoon version of West's mascot "Dropout Bear" wearing sunglasses similar to the those West wears in the music video, as well as the small, robotic heads of Thomas Bangalter
Thomas Bangalter
Thomas Bangalter is a French electronic musician best known as a member of the French house music duo Daft Punk. He has also recorded and released music as a member of the trio Stardust, the duo Together, and as a solo artist including compositions for the film Irréversible.Thomas Bangalter owns a...
and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo; is a founding member of the French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Bangalter. He has also produced several works from his record label Crydamoure with label co-owner Éric Chedeville. He and Chedeville formed the musical duo Le Knight...
of Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
. West performed a partial version of "Stronger" live at the Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the then new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...
held at Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
on July 1, 2007 to a crowd of 63,000 people. An estimated 500 million people watched the event in over 140 countries worldwide.
The single was released to iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
on July 31, 2007. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number forty-seven and eventually peaked at the number-one position, the same week his album Graduation took the number one spot. It is West's third number-one single in the United States, following "Slow Jamz
Slow Jamz
"Slow Jamz" is the Grammy-nominated first single from Twista's album Kamikaze and from Kanye West's debut album The College Dropout. Released in 2003, the single, which features Kanye West and Jamie Foxx peaked at number one in the USA for a week on February 10, 2004 becoming Twista's, West's and...
" and "Gold Digger
Gold Digger
"Gold Digger" is a song recorded by American rapper Kanye West featuring guest vocals by Jamie Foxx. Released as the second single from West's second album, Late Registration, "Gold Digger" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on September 6, 2005, becoming West's and Foxx's second...
." After becoming West's first number one single in the UK, "Stronger" went on to be met by widespread international success, reaching number-one in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The song was also met by critical recognition and was the recipient of multiple awards, including a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Rap Solo Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....
. Daft Punk themselves made a surprise appearance at the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
on February 10, 2008 to join West in performing a reworked version of the song on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. A press release specified that this was the very first televised live performance by Daft Punk in their career.
Music and structure
"Stronger" is an electronicaElectronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
-infused hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
song composed in the key of E-flat minor. It is written in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
and moves at 104 beats per minute. The song is built around vocal sample of the 2001 house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk. The single was first released on 13 October 2001. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007. This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance...
" by Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
. Following the introduction
Introduction (music)
In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
, where a chopped sample of Daft Punk's robotic vocals is played continuously in the background at a decreased tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and pitch
Pitch (music)
Pitch is an auditory perceptual property that allows the ordering of sounds on a frequency-related scale.Pitches are compared as "higher" and "lower" in the sense associated with musical melodies,...
, West raps the refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, which expresses Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
's famous dictum, "What does not kill him, makes him stronger", as well as the hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
twice and enter the first verse. He repeats this process three more times, making slight alterations to the chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
each time. He injects a "me likey" ad-lib after the hook in the second, repeats a line within the verse six times on the third, and recites the hook four times on the fourth. It is also within the fourth that the song breaks down
Break (music)
In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main parts of the song or piece....
and enters an extended outro passage where the vocal sample is repeatedly played over a layered, complex patchwork of synth-beats and grooves before finally bring itself to a close.
West collaborated with Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
to rework the drum programming and percussion for the final version of the song, which appears on the Graduation
Graduation (album)
Graduation is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released September 11, 2007 on Roc-A-Fella Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2005 to 2007 at Chung King Studios and Sony Music Studios in New York City and at Chalice Studios and The Record Plant...
album.
This version contains a master use of Edwin Birdsong
Edwin Birdsong
Edwin Birdsong is a keyboard/organ player who was known in the 70's and 80's for his experimental funk/disco music. He never achieved chart success, but developed a strong fan base, and has also been sampled by other artists many times, most famously by Daft Punk who sampled "Cola Bottle Baby" in...
's "Cola Bottle Baby," the song that had been previously sampled by Daft Punk themselves to produce "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". The pre-album version of "Stronger", known to the public and being used by radio, television and other outlets, was the version used as the single. On October 4, 2007, a previously unreleased version of "Stronger" was revealed. This version retains a singular, unused verse from West, while the structure features less synthesizer chords and percussion. It is believed that this version was an early draft of the final song.
On July 3, 2007, West told Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...
on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
that although he believes "Stronger" is a great song, it does not compare to the sampled original. Daft Punk were delighted upon first hearing the new song on Power 106
KPWR
KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...
while on a San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
flight. As Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo; is a founding member of the French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas Bangalter. He has also produced several works from his record label Crydamoure with label co-owner Éric Chedeville. He and Chedeville formed the musical duo Le Knight...
of the duo stated, "Our song had a good sound, but when [the radio DJ] put Kanye's record on, the sound was really fat. It sounds really big." The use of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was requested through Pedro Winter
Pedro Winter
Pedro Winter aka Busy P is a French electrohouse DJ, producer, manager and owner of the Ed Banger Records label. Pedro Winter manages Cassius, Cosmo Vitelli, artists on his Ed Banger Records label, and managed Daft Punk from 1996 to 2008.-Life:...
, Daft Punk's manager at the time, and approved by the duo. De Homem-Christo also clarified that "It's not a collaboration in the studio, but the vibe of the music we do separately connected in what [West] did with the song." In a later interview, de Homem-Christo specified that the live performance of "Stronger" at the 50th Grammy Awards was "truly a collaboration from the start. We really did it all hand in hand."
Media reception
The song was also named the number one record of 2007 in the January 2008 issue of SpinSpin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine with Kanye West and Daft Punk presiding on the cover. This song was number 11 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Chart performance
"Stronger" entered the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on the charting week of August 11, 2007 at number forty-seven, the highest debut single on the chart that week. Over the next eight weeks, the song steadily climbed upwards, reaching the number one position on the charting week of September 29, 2007, pushing the previous week's chart topper, Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
DeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....
's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)
Crank That (Soulja Boy)
"Crank That " is the debut single by American rapper Soulja Boy from his debut album souljaboytellem.com. It spent seven weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2007. The song is recognized by its looping steel pan riff. The song was originally produced on the program FL Studio before...
" into the number two position. However, the following week, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" replaced "Stronger" atop the charts, making West's single reach its peak for only one week. As of June 2011, the single has sold over 4,402,000 digital copies in the US alone. The song debuted at number three in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and rose to become West's very first British number one single. Climbing on downloads alone, it surpassed the prior week's number one single, Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
's "With Every Heartbeat
With Every Heartbeat
"With Every Heartbeat" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn with Swedish producer Kleerup. It was released on 30 July 2007 in the United Kingdom as the second single from the international edition of Robyn's self-titled fourth studio album, Robyn...
". It has also topped the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, New Zealand, and the Turkish Singles charts. "Stronger" also spent 18 weeks on the German Singles Chart. The song ended 2007 as the 19th biggest-selling single in the United Kingdom of that year.
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Stronger" was directed by Hype Williams
Hype Williams
Harold "Hype" Williams , previously known as HYPE, is an American music video and film director of African-American and Honduran descent. His nickname "Hype" comes from his hyperactive nature as a child....
and shot over nine days in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It include shots filmed in Aoyama
Aoyama, Tokyo
is a neighborhood of Tokyo, located in the northeastern Minato Ward. During the Edo Period, Aoyama was home to various temples, shrines, and samurai residences. The name Aoyama derived from a samurai named Aoyama Tadanari who served the Tokugawa Shogunate and held his mansion in this area...
-based clothing store A Bathing Ape
A Bathing Ape
A Bathing Ape is a Japanese clothing company founded by Nigo in 1993. The company specializes in men's, women's and kids' lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive Aoyama, and Bapexclusive Kyoto...
as well as Harajuku
Harajuku
Harajuku is the common name for the area around Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan....
clothing store Billionaire Boys Club
Billionaire Boys Club (clothing)
Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream are two lines of luxury clothing established by Pharrell of The Neptunes and Nigo, founder of BAPE. The lines consist of T-shirts, polos, sweatshirts, knits, denim, suits and shirts; outerwear in leather, down, cotton, and technical fabrics; hats, sneakers,...
/Ice Cream. The video took over three months to complete. West first premiered a rough cut at the Tribeca Studios in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on June 19, 2007. It made its public premiere on June 26, 2007, on MTV Germany's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
. The video was also shown on the BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
countdown show 106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
on June 28, 2007.
The video features appearances by singer and model Cassie Ventura, a real-life Japanese motorcycle gang, and the two principal actors from the film Daft Punk's Electroma
Daft Punk's Electroma
Daft Punk's Electroma is a 2007 film by French duo Daft Punk. The plot revolves around the quest of two robots to become human. The music featured in this film is not by Daft Punk, which is a first for the duo after their previous film and home video releases, D.A.F.T. and Interstella 5555...
dressed as Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
. The video also features multiple scenes which pay homage to the 1988 anime film Akira
Akira (film)
is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, and starring the voices of Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama and Taro Ishida. The screenplay is based on Otomo's manga Akira....
. These include the light effects on the motorbikes, the hospital scenes and West being scanned by machines. Both West and Williams had originally planned to integrate scenes from the film into the video. West also wears a pair of Alain Mikli
Alain Mikli
Alain Mikli is a French designer of high-end handmade eyeglasses and accessories. Mikli's line features unique colors and shapes, and are a favorite among European celebrities and avant-garde Americans. Mikli claims his use of color is inspired by his Armenian-Lebanese heritage.In 1978, Mikli...
sunglasses, which he requested from the designer specifically for the video. The sunglasses have since become a signature of West, who for a period of time often donned them during performances. The video was nominated two 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
2007 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year, took place on September 9, in Las Vegas at The Palms. The 2007 VMAs were the smallest VMAs ever held in MTV history, eliminating 13 awards, re-naming many of the remaining awards, and having only four...
for Video of the Year and Best Editing in a Video. It won Best Hip-Hop Video at the BET Hip-Hop Awards
BET Hip Hop Awards
The BET Hip Hop Awards are an annual awards show, airing on BET, showcasing hip hop performers, producers and music video directors. The awards ceremony began in 2006, was held on November 12, 2006 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, was first aired November 15 and was hosted by comedian Katt...
as well as Best Video at the MOBO Awards
MOBO Awards
The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....
.
Cover versions and media usage
The JabbaWockeeZJabbaWockeeZ
Jabbawockeez is a Bay-Area-based Urban dance group formed initially by members Kevin " KB" Brewer, Phil "Swagger Boy" Tayag, & Joe "Punkee" Larot under the name "3 Muskee". They were the winners of season 1 of the show America's Best Dance Crew...
performed to this song in the finale of America's Best Dance Crew (season 1)
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 1)
The first season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on February 7, 2008. In the first season, it was hosted by Mario Lopez and featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent and was judged by rapper Lil Mama, former *NSYNC singer JC Chasez, and hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks...
as their victory performance for being crowned champions. 30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...
performed a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of "Stronger" on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, which is featured on Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 2
Radio 1's Live Lounge – Volume 2
Radio 1's Live Lounge: Volume 2 is a collection of live tracks played on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show. The album is the second in a series of Live Lounge albums. It consists of both covers and the bands' own songs...
and a UK release of the single "From Yesterday
From Yesterday
"From Yesterday" is a song by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, and the third single released from their second album A Beautiful Lie. The music video for the song is believed to be the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China in its entirety...
". The cover features a slower tempo on guitar and omits the profanity, which was reworded by their lead singer Jared Leto
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
. Leto said that he "hoped that Kanye [was] okay" with the editing. The song can be heard for the promo of the 2007 film The Kingdom
The Kingdom (film)
The Kingdom is a 2007 film directed by Peter Berg and starring Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, with Kyle Chandler, Jeremy Piven and Ali Suliman....
. It can also be heard as the introductory song of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
, New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, Texas Longhorns, Washington Wizards
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
, Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
. Also, the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
entered the field to this song at Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
and during most of their home games during the season. The New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
and Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
play it at every home game as well. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....
for the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
. It is also Featured in Season 4 Ep 4 of Entourage as background music in a night club. The A-Trak
A-Trak
A-Trak is a Montreal-born DJ, turntablist, and owner of the record label Fool's Gold.- Career :...
remix of the song is used in an advert for the short-lived American TV show Bionic Woman
Bionic Woman
Bionic Woman may refer to:* The Bionic Woman, a television series that aired from 1976 to 1978 on ABC and NBC** Jaime Sommers , the main character* Bionic Woman , a 2007 remake of the series on NBC...
. This song is also used by Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
to promote their new show Jockeys
Jockeys (TV series)
Jockeys is an American documentary sports reality television series that premiered on February 6, 2009 on Animal Planet. The series chronicles the professional lives of jockeys during the famous thirty-day Oak Tree Meet at Santa Anita Park...
, appearing in commercials as well as being the series' opening theme. UK rapper Kano
Kano (rapper)
Kane Brett Robinson , better known as Kano and also known as Kane O, is an English rapper and actor. His grandparents came to England as immigrants from Jamaica. He was formerly a key member of east London’s N.A.S.T.Y...
has freestyled over this song on his mixtape MC No.1. The song also appeared on the trailer for the videogame Top Spin 4
Top Spin 4
Top Spin 4 is the fourth title in the Top Spin series of tennis video games. developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K Sports released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles. It is the fourth game in the Top Spin series. The game features licensed professional players, venues and equipment...
.
In 2011 Stronger appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Hangover Part II and in the scene where the characters walk through the airport.
In 2011 , he sang the song he was scheduled to sing at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show but couldn't cause of his mothers death. Saying “In 2007, I was supposed to perform this song… then my mom passed away. She was my superhero – now she’s my super-angel.”
Track listing
CD single (International)- "Stronger" (Album version) – 5:15
- "Stronger" (Instrumental) – 5:15
- "Can't Tell Me Nothing" – 4:34
- "Stronger" (Video) – 4:29
Promo 12" single
A-side
- "Stronger" (Clean)
- "Stronger" (Explicit)
B-side
- "Stronger" (Radio edit)
- "Stronger" (Instrumental)
- "Bittersweet" (Bonus track)
CD single (UK)
- "Stronger" (Album Version) – 5:14
- "Can't Tell Me Nothing" (Album Version) – 4:32
12" picture disc (UK)
- "Stronger" (Radio edit)
- "Stronger" (LP dirty)
- "Stronger" (Instrumental)
- "Stronger" (LP clean)
iTunes Remixes single
- "Stronger (A-TrakA-TrakA-Trak is a Montreal-born DJ, turntablist, and owner of the record label Fool's Gold.- Career :...
Remix)" – 4:36 - "Stronger (Andrew Dawson Remix)" – 4:46
Personnel
Information taken from Graduation liner notes.- Songwriters: Kanye West, Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Edwin Birdsong
- Producers: Kanye West, Mike DeanMike Dean (producer)Mike Dean is an American hip-hop producer. He is known for pioneering the "Dirty South" sound in the 1990s, particularly in work for artists from Rap-A-Lot Records. Dean has most notably worked alongside Scarface of the Geto Boys, 2Pac, Do or Die, Tha Dogg Pound, Yukmouth of the Luniz, Outlawz,...
(extended outro)- Additional drum programming: TimbalandTimbalandTimothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
- Additional drum programming: Timbaland
- Recorder: Seiji
- Mix engineer: Manny MarroquinManny MarroquinManny Marroquin, born 21 September 1971 in Guatemala, is a Grammy winning mixing engineer. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War....
- Assistant engineers: Kengo Sakura, Bram Tobey, Jason Agel, Nate Hertweck, Jared Robbins
- Keyboards: Andy ChatterleyAndy ChatterleyAndy Chatterley is a Grammy nominated remixer, record producer, song writer, and keyboard player. He was born 8 May 1973, in Jersey, Channel Islands, and educated at Victoria College, Jersey....
, La Mar "Mars" Edwards - Guitar: Mike Dean
Chart positions
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 29 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
1 |
| Czech IFPI Chart | 27 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
20 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 35 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 3 |
| Finnish Singles Chart Mitä hittiä The Official Finnish Charts is a national record chart in Finland composed by Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.The singles chart was started in January 1991 as Radiomafian lista and was broadcast on the radio station Radiomafia of the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE. This chart is based on a... |
8 |
| French Singles Chart | 3 |
| German Singles Chart | 17 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
2 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Portuguese Singles Chart | 30 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 19 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 29 |
| Turkish Singles Chart Türkiye Top 20 The Turkey Top 20 is a music singles chart in Turkey. It has been compiled by Billboard Türkiye since November 2006. The charts were announced from the web site weekly, and monthly from the "Billboard Türkiye" magazine. Since September 2009, the charts are only announced monthly from the published... |
1 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
30 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
3 |
| US Billboard Pop Songs | 1 |
Sales and certifications
| Country | Provider | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Platinum |
| New Zealand | RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
Gold |
| United States | RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
4x Platinum |
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (Canada)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2007 (U.S.)
- List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2007 (U.S.)