Not Strong Enough (Boygenius song)
"Not Strong Enough" is a song by American supergroup Boygenius. It was released on March 1, 2023, as the second single from their debut studio album The Record, where it appears as the sixth track. Written by all three members of the band—Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus—"Not Strong Enough" is an indie rock, folk rock, and country pop song about mental illness and resultant relationship dysfunction.
"Not Strong Enough"
Commercially, the song spent seven weeks at number one on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart, where it was ranked as the biggest hit of 2023; it was moderately successful on several other charts. The song was acclaimed by music critics, many of whom lauded the lyrics and the band's synergy. It appeared on multiple year-end lists and was named the best song of the year by Spin, the Los Angeles Times, and Uproxx. The song's music video depicts the band spending a day together in various locations around Los Angeles County; critics and commenters complimentarily noted the contrast between the song's dark lyrics and the video's uplifting atmosphere.
At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, "Not Strong Enough" received nominations for Record of the Year, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance, winning the latter two.
Background[edit]
After the 2018 release of Boygenius' self-titled EP, the trio worked on their solo projects. Each musician released their respective albums—Little Oblivions by Julien Baker, Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers, and Home Video by Lucy Dacus—over the course of 2020 and 2021. They performed together for the first time in three years on November 19, 2021, as part of a charity concert for Bread and Roses Presents.[1] Rumors about a debut album from Boygenius began spreading in late 2022 to 2023, following a photoshoot in November 2022 and the announcement of their inclusion on the 2023 Coachella lineup.[2][3][4]
On January 18, 2023, the band's debut album The Record and its tracklist were announced.[5] According to Bridgers, the album's first half consists of songs which were near completion by the time she, Baker, and Dacus shared them with each other; the second half is informed by the album's creative process itself, as well as the bond shared by the three band members.[6] The collaboratively written "Not Strong Enough" appears as the sixth track out of twelve.[5] Along with the rest of the album, recording primarily took place at Shangri-La in Malibu, with additional recording at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys.[7]
Response[edit]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Not Strong Enough" was sent to adult album alternative and alternative radio in the United States on March 13 and March 28, 2023, respectively.[23][24] It debuted at number seventeen on Billboard's Adult Alternative Airplay chart on the week ending March 25;[25] it reached number one on the week ending June 3, becoming the first song by any member of Boygenius to reach the top of a Billboard airplay chart.[26][27] It remained at number one for seven weeks and spent a total of twenty-four weeks on the chart;[28] Billboard would ultimately rank the song as the biggest adult alternative hit of 2023.[29] On Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, the song debuted at number forty on the week ending April 8,[30] peaking at number eleven on the week ending September 2 and charting for a total of twenty-three weeks.[31] On Billboard's overall Rock Airplay chart, which measures audience impressions across mainstream rock, alternative, and adult album alternative radio stations, the song debuted at number thirty-nine on the week ending March 25[32] and peaked at number twelve on the week ending June 17, charting for a total of twenty-four weeks.[33] Billboard would later rank the song at numbers twenty-seven and twenty-six on the 2023 year-end tallies for Alternative Airplay and Rock Airplay, respectively.[34][35] On the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, which ranks songs based on streaming figures and digital sales in addition to radio airplay, it debuted at number forty-three on the week ending March 18[36] and peaked at number twenty-six on the week ending June 10, spending twenty-two weeks on the chart;[37] it was ranked at number seventy-four on that chart's year-end listing.[38]
Outside of the United States, "Not Strong Enough" had a limited presence on record charts. In Ireland, the song debuted and peaked at number seventy-eight on the week of April 6 and fell off the chart the following week; it re-entered at number eighty-four on the week of August 31 for a second and final week on the chart.[39][40] On Billboard Japan's Hot Overseas chart, the song debuted at number fifteen on the week of March 20 and has since charted for nine non-consecutive weeks. It peaked at number nine on the week of May 1; its most recent appearance was on the week of February 19, 2024, when it was ranked at number fifteen.[41][42][43]
Critical reception[edit]
"Not Strong Enough" was met with critical acclaim. Multiple publications named it a highlight of The Record in their reviews of the album, including NME,[44] DIY,[45] PopMatters,[46] Exclaim!,[47] and Belwood Music.[48] Tyler Golsen of Far Out Magazine gave the song four out of five stars, writing "It’s just fun and that’s all it needs to be. If you make songs as good as this, you don’t need anything more."[9] Writing for Consequence, which selected "Not Strong Enough" as its Song of the Week, Spencer Dukoff described it as a "worship song for non-believers" and praised the vocals and lyrics.[49] Lola J. DeAscentiis of The Harvard Crimson was extremely positive, hailing the song as "a stunning masterpiece that manages to turn the most gruesome mental breakdown into a work of art, yet still avoids the romanticization of these struggles."[14] In a track review for The Indiependent, Ben Carpenter praised the song's "honest introspection" and compared its production favorably to Taylor Swift.[50] Atwood Magazine's collaborative review of The Record saw five of the review's seven contributors cite "Not Strong Enough" as one of the album's best songs, complimenting its "colorful instrumentation", "spunky admission of inadequacy", and the synergy between Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus.[51] Ben Tipple of DIY referred to the song as "a shining moment in a sound of friendship that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but comes built on an unshakable admiration for every facet of their beings."[45] Adam Feibel of Exclaim! stated that it "showcases each of them equally and sounds like them, all at once."[47] Nashville Scene's Hannah Cron remarked on each member's individual strengths and praised the song as being "somehow even greater than the sum of the three artists' contributions."[52] Spin, the Los Angeles Times, and Uproxx crowned the song as the best of 2023.[53][54][55] Several other publications also included it in their year-end lists, such as Billboard (number six),[12] The Guardian (number nineteen),[56] and Pitchfork (number thirty-two).[57] Triple J ranked it at number thirty on their Hottest 100 of 2023.[58]
Accolades[edit]
"Not Strong Enough" was nominated in three categories at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards (2024): Record of the Year, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance. It lost the first award to "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus,[77] but won the latter two awards; they were, together with The Record's win for Best Alternative Music Album, the first Grammys for all band members.[a][78] Several media outlets remarked that Boygenius was amongst a large number of LGBT artists whom had received nominations and awards, including Cyrus, Sivan, Brandy Clark, Billie Eilish, Victoria Monét, and Romy.[79][80][81] In an interview with Billboard, Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus stated that they were pleased by the amount of LGBT representation at the 2024 Grammys, which they described as indicative that the LGBT community was being taken more seriously as an artistic force than it had been previously.[79] In the same interview, and later upon accepting the awards, the band detailed feelings of excitement and disbelief. Dacus expressed that she "need[ed] a whole new bucket list" and that "[she, Baker, and Bridgers] were all delusional enough as kids to think that this might happen to [them] someday"; Bridgers pontificated about "what weird shit [she could] do next" and Baker emphasized the importance of music in her life.[79][82]
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Record.[7]