"A Little Bit Stronger" is a song written by

Luke Laird Luke Robert Laird (born May 4, 1978 in Hartstown, Pennsylvania) is an American country music songwriter and producer. He has written over 20 number one ''Billboard'' singles, including Carrie Underwood's "So Small", "Temporary Home", and "Und ...

Hillary Lindsey Hillary Lee Lindsey is an American singer-songwriter. She has written songs with or for a number of artists including Michelle Branch, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Shakira, Lady A, Gary Allan, Sara Evans, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Bon ...

, and

Hillary Scott Hillary Dawn Scott-Tyrrell (born April 1, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the co-lead singer of Lady A, previously known as Lady Antebellum, a country music group that was formed in 2006, and is signed to Big Machine Records ...

and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Sara Evans Sara Lynn Evans (; born February 5, 1971) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is also credited as a record producer, actress, and author. She had five songs reach the number one spot on the '' Billboard'' country songs ch ...

. It was released in September 2010 and as the first single from Evans' 2011 album '' Stronger''. The song was also included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

for the 2010 movie ''

Country Strong ''Country Strong'' is a 2010 American drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film, about an emotionally unstable country music star who attempts to resurrect her career, was directed and written ...

'' and released as the second single from the film's soundtrack album. The song became Evans' fifth and final number one hit on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart in May 2011. It is also her first single to be certified Platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Evans performed the song on April 3, 2011 during the 2011

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy ...

, and received a standing ovation for her performance. She also performed the song on May 24, 2011, during the finale of the twelfth season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

''.

Content

"A Little Bit Stronger" is a mid-tempo country ballad, backed by mandolin, steel guitar, piano, and percussion. The song's female narrator describes going through her daily routine and being constantly reminded of her former love interest ("I turned on the radio / Stupid song made me think of you"). However, she copes with the pain ("I listened to it for a minute / But then I changed it"), assuring herself that each time she pushes his memory away, she gets "a little bit stronger." Evans debuted the new single during her 2010 fanclub party on June 10, 2010. The song was written by

Lady Antebellum Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...

, the latter of whom also performed harmony vocals on the record. The lyrics were inspired by a real-life experience from Scott, who had just dealt with a break up with a loved one. The song has become an anthem for many women across the United States, and helped them through their struggles in life.

Critical reception

Blake Boldt of Engine 145 gave the song a "thumbs up" rating, complimenting the song's "flourishes of steel and piano" and the "authentic, organic vocal." Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song 4 stars out of 5, complimenting the song's lighter production and Evans' vocals, which he felt "wring every bit of emotion out of the lyrics that chronicle a woman's ability to move on after a long relationship ends." Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe gave the song a C grade, stating that the song could have been better "with a stronger melody and a more refined concept." He also compared it unfavorably to Evans’ previous singles, "Fool, I'm a Woman," " Cheatin'," and "Shame About That."

Other versions

The song was also recorded by

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...

for the film ''

'' and is included on the soundtrack album '' Country Strong: More Music From the Motion Picture''.

Danielle Bradbery Danielle Simone Bradbery (born July 23, 1996) is an American country pop singer. She won season 4 of NBC's ''The Voice'' in 2013, becoming the youngest artist to win the competition at age 16. Bradbery's record has since been eclipsed by Sawyer F ...

, the eventual winner of season four of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', covered the song during the quarter-finals. Her version reached number 31 on the US ''Billboard''

chart. On her 2017 album ''

Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...

'', Evans recorded an acoustic version of the song at NightBird Recording Studios in

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

Music video

The music video, directed by

Peter Zavadil Peter Zavadil is an American music video director who works primarily in the field of country music. He has directed many music videos since the late 1990s. He has won the Country Music Association Award for Video of the Year twice from seven nomin ...

, was shot on August 9, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee, and premiered on CMT's Big New Music Weekend on October 1, 2010. In the video, Evans is shown in various locations within her spacious apartment and sitting behind the wheel of a car in the rain, appearing distraught while she performs the song. Throughout the video, scenes of her recording a video blog are included. As the video progresses, Evans makes note in her video blog that she's been getting stronger with each passing day. The video was nominated in Female Video of the Year category at the 2011

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...

Chart performance

"A Little Bit Stronger" debuted at #56 on the U.S. ''Billboard''

chart for the week of October 2, 2010. It also debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

at #98 for the week of January 15, 2011. It became her fifth (and to date, final) number one hit on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart for the week dated May 14, 2011, and her first number one hit since "

A Real Fine Place to Start "A Real Fine Place to Start" is a song written by Radney Foster and George Ducas and recorded by American country music artist Sara Evans. It was released in May 2005 as the first single from Evans' 2005 album ''Real Fine Place''. The song becam ...

" in September–October 2005.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Bit Stronger 2010 singles Sara Evans songs Song recordings produced by Tony Brown (record producer) Songs written by Hillary Lindsey Music videos directed by Peter Zavadil Songs written by Hillary Scott Songs written by Luke Laird RCA Records Nashville singles 2010 songs