Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" is a song by the American singer Kelly Clarkson and the title song from her fifth studio album, Stronger (2011). Originally titled as "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)", the song served as the album's second single on January 17, 2012, through RCA Records. Written by Kelly Clarkson, Jörgen Elofsson, Ali Tamposi, and David Gamson, with additional writing and production by Greg Kurstin, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" is an uptempo song that draws from the genres of dance-pop, electropop and pop rock. Its lyrical content mainly explores themes of empowerment and recovery following a heartbreak, with the chorus inspired by a Friedrich Nietzsche quotation: "What does not kill me makes me stronger." The song was positively received by music critics, although some noted the cliché nature of the title's phrase.

In the United States, "Stronger" became Clarkson's third song to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It held the number 1 position for three non-consecutive weeks, surpassing "A Moment Like This" (2002) and "My Life Would Suck Without You" (2009) as her longest-running number-one single on the chart. It also topped fifteen other Billboard charts, including Adult Pop Songs, Adult Contemporary, Hot Dance Club Songs, and Pop Songs charts, more than any other song Clarkson has ever released. Internationally, "Stronger" topped the national charts of Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia and attained a top-ten position in over fifteen countries around the world, eventually selling over five million copies worldwide. Its success helped its parent album to sustain commercial longevity for over a year. "Stronger" merited consideration for several industry awards—including three Grammy Award nominations and a World Music Award nomination.

The song's accompanying music video was filmed by Shane Drake, which incorporates the theme of a global flash mob dance, featuring submitted videos of people dancing to the song. The music video garnered positive reception from critics who felt that its overall impact was exuberant. It earned Clarkson a nomination for a MuchMusic Video Award. With its continued success, she performed "Stronger" on several live award shows and television appearances around the world, debuting it during the first season of The X Factor (US) and performing it on the 37th season of Saturday Night Live, the 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards, and the American Music Awards of 2012. Clarkson also included the song in the set list of her Stronger Tour and on the encore set of her 2012 Summer Tour with the Fray.

Writing and production Originally titled as "What Doesn't Kill You", "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" was written by Jörgen Elofsson, Ali Tamposi, David Gamson, and Greg Kurstin in September 2010. In an interview with American Songwriter, Tamposi revealed that the song was inspired by the Friedrich Nietzsche adage ("That which does not kill us makes us stronger") that her mother told her as advice. Although Tamposi found the phrase saccharine, she submitted it as an idea to Elofsson and Gamson during their writing sessions. Elofsson originally intended "Stronger" for Leona Lewis, who turned it down in the process. Tamposi's manager, Tom Maffei, then had one of his producers, Matty Trump, produce a demo track, later pitched to RCA A&R executive Jeff Aldrich, who gave the song to Clarkson. Tamposi revealed that Clarkson had also altered a lyric from the track. Aldrich had then commissioned Greg Kurstin, whom Clarkson wanted to collaborate with, to produce and add additional writing to the final version. Kurstin recalled, "I rethought the music part of it, I guess. It had a different tempo, beat, chords, and I kinda just came up with that guitar riff that goes into the verse, and that was the first thing that I kinda contributed just changed the feel of the song." The song's uplifting theme of empowerment led Clarkson to name her fifth studio album Stronger. Saying that it is one of her favorite songs in the album, she said, "Everybody loves the message 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' It's a perfect representation of my life."

Composition

"Stronger" is a dance-pop, electropop and pop rock song, with a length of three minutes and 41 seconds. According to the sheet music published by Hal Leonard Corporation at Musicnotes.com, it is set in a common time and has a moderately fast tempo of 116 beats per minute. It is written in the key of A minor, and it follows the chord progression Am–F–C-G/B. Clarkson's vocals span two octaves, from G3 to G5. The song begins with a "rumbling guitar" and a "shimmering synth" riff as Clarkson sings the opening line "You know the bed feels warmer / Sleeping here alone." Jason Lipshutz of Billboard noted that the guitar riff in the verses is reminiscent of Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" which narrates an anthem of personal reinvention, and dancing. The bridges contain pulsating beats with synth and electric guitar that display some elements of electronic sound. During the chorus, the song explodes into an upbeat dance-pop number, complete with guitars and electronic drums as Clarkson sings "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger / Stand a little taller / Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone." Jonathan Keefe of Slant felt nobody else could sell the song's "ginormous chorus" better than Clarkson. Lyrically, "Stronger" explores the theme of moving on from an inimical relationship. In an interview, Clarkson remarked that the song doesn't refer to a specific person, stating "I didn't have a bad breakup or anything, I just think life is about relationships so I always write all about these different ones going on in my life. And I don't have a filter, so it's pretty verbatim." Jason Scott of Blogcritics felt that out of all tracks in Stronger, Clarkson's vocals are best and trendiest in "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)".

In an interview with MTV News prior to the song's release, Clarkson compared "Stronger" to "Since U Been Gone" (2004). She commented, "We've already rehearsed it, and it's so much fun. It's like this big dance anthem. That'll be the one [that's] kinda like "Since U Been Gone", [with] people jumping up and down to [it], and it's just kind of really inspiring, so I can't wait to perform that one."

Release and reception After returning from a vacation in Tahiti, Clarkson found out over 50 of her newly recorded demo material were leaked online, including "Stronger". She commented that the leak felt worse than being physically robbed. In an attempt to counter-attack the leakage, RCA finally debuted the song online on October 5, 2011, three weeks ahead of the album's release. An acoustic version of the song appears in Clarkson's second extended play, iTunes Session. The song was featured in a Toyota Camry commercial featuring Clarkson and other celebrities. "Stronger" was officially released as the album's second single to mainstream radio on January 17, 2012. A dance remixes of the song were made available on February 3, 2012. On February 17, 2012, it was released as a CD single.

Critical response Jenna Hally Rubenstein of MTV Buzzworthy compared it to "Since U Been Gone," which has "a super radio-friendly hook." Elizabeth Lancaster of MTV Newsroom listed it as one of five key tracks in Stronger, writing "Upbeat yet soulful, the chorus will drag you up and onto the floor to dance the heartache away alongside her." Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly thought that the song's "belty pop/rock wheelhouse" should please fans of the sound. He later added that "Clarkson might have been better off releasing "What Doesn't Kill You" as the first track from Stronger." Another positive reception came from Glenn Gamboa of Newsday, who praised Clarkson for "infusing her tales of empowerment after a breakup with her unique combo of vulnerability and sass." Jonathan Keefe of Slant thought that the song is "tailor-made for radio play" and that "the chilly electro-pop that Greg Kurstin brings to the verses, suggests a top forty version of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" (2010). On March 5, 2013, Billboard ranked the song at number two in its list of Top 100 American Idol Hits of All Time. Additionally, it also appeared at number two of Clarkson's Top 15 Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits through the week ending April 29, 2017.

Chris Willman of Reuters criticized the lyrics, commenting that "Never mind how tired that tune's titular phrase is. For a laugh, look up the YouTube video in which some wag mashed together a medley of 30 different songs that already borrowed "That which does not kill me makes me stronger" as a lyrical hook." Kevin Ritchie from Now Magazine emphasized that the lyrics are "about as clichéd as a mission statement can get, but it also makes for a solid pop song." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song four stars out of five, writing "The message behind her song may already be a well-worn, almost clichéd lesson, but as she continues to prove, there's little shame in coming out with the expected."

Commercial performance