"Finally" is a song recorded by American singer Fergie for her debut studio album, ''

The Dutchess ''The Dutchess'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer and rapper Fergie. It was released on September 13, 2006, through A&M Records and the will.i.am Music Group as her first solo album. The album was recorded between The Black Eye ...

'' (2006). It was written by Fergie, Stefanie Ridel and

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...

, who produced the song alongside

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several ar ...

. The song was released as single on March 18, 2008.

Background and promotion

A music video for "Finally" was shot by director Marc Webb, but never released – it was canceled in post-production without explanation. The video shoot took place at the former Hollywood Hills home of Frank Sinatra and featured several male models from

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...

as part of the shoot.

Writing and production

"Finally" was written by John Stephens (

), Stacy Ferguson ( Fergie) and Stefanie Ridel. The song was produced by John Legend and

. Ridel and Fair produced Fergie's vocals, which were recorded at Chung King Recording Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Conway Recording Studios Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wond ...

in Hollywood. The strings were arranged and conducted by Fair and recorded by Allen Sides at Signet Sound 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 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

. Anatoly Rosinsky, Bruce Dukov, Helen Nightengale, Josefina Vergara, Julie Gigante, Liane Mautner, Natalie Leggett, Becky Bunnell, Roberto Cani, Sarah Thornblade, Shoshana Claman, Sid Page, Tiffany Hu, Katia Popov, Michele Richards, Phillip Levy, Songa Lee and Tammy Hatwan performed the strings for "Finally". The viola was performed by Andrew Duckles, Brian Dembow, Thomas Diener and Vicky Misckolczy, while the cello was performed by David Low, Larry Corbett, Suzie Katayama and Tim Loo. Nico Abondolo and Mike Valerio performed the bass in the song, while John Legend performed the piano. Additional

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-produ ...

editing was done by Tal Herzberg. The song was engineered by Josh Chervokas and "Angry" Mike Eleopoulos, with assistance from Anthony Caruso and Bevin Robinson. The song was mixed by Sides.

Composition and critical response

"Finally" is a "bombastic ballad", set to the style of

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

. It features a "dramatic piano" and "string-laden" coda. The song is set in common time composed in a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 84

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

, with a main key of C major with a vocal range from the tone of G₃ to the note of E₅. Fergie "gets introspective" and "lets loose" about her past troubles and dreams in the song. According to Bill Lamb of

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, Fergie "blows the listener away" with "Finally", a track that is "truly huge". "Finally", according to Spence D. of

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, would "on paper" seem to be a "flop", "just like her other attempts at serious sounding tunes" on ''The Dutchess''. He, however, stated that the song "actually works", mostly because Fergie "lets loose with her voice", showing that she has range and a "nice, warm set of pipes". He concluded by stating that while the song "may be at odds with her bangin' club persona", it is a "rich, introspective number" that showcases Fergie's "maturity and sincerity rather nicely". According to a reviewer from ''Alloy'', Fergie shines "without a trace" of hip hop, reggae, or rap, which proves that she does not need sexual lyrics or synth-produced dance beats to "show off her pipes". That same reviewer wrote that "Finally" is "the biggest surprise" on ''The Dutchess''. Leah Greenblatt of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' wrote that Fergie's "ardent joy" on "Finally" is probably as "publicly naked as she's ever allowed herself to be". She wrote that "not that she's morphing into some kind of "

My Heart Will Go On "My Heart Will Go On" is a 1997 song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song serves as the main theme to James Cameron's blockbuster film '' Titanic'', based on an account of the transatlantic ocean liner of the same name which san ...

" ballad queen; Fergie is too adept on the dance floor to forsake it." While giving a negative review of ''The Dutchess'', Mike Joseph of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

wrote that Fergie "shows hints of promise" in "Finally". According to

Kelefa Sanneh Kelefa T. Sanneh (born 1976) is an American journalist and music critic. From 2000 to 2008, he wrote for ''The New York Times'', covering the rock and roll, hip-hop, and pop music scenes. Since 2008 he has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorke ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', the song "may one day conquer radio".

Live performances

Fergie and Legend performed the song together at the

50th Grammy Awards The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

. Fergie performed the track multiple times on television, most notably on 2008's Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and ''

The Tyra Banks Show ''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', was an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010. While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...

''. Fergie performed the song with John Legend at the ''

Idol Gives Back ''Idol Gives Back'' was the name of a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of ''American Idol'' during its sixth season. A second ''Idol Gives Back'' concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the s ...

'' show on Wednesday, April 9, 2008. Fergie has also performed the song in an episode of Nickelodeon's "

Dance on Sunset ''Dance on Sunset'' is an American dance and music series hosted by Quddus (Benjamin Quddus Philippe) on Nickelodeon that featured dance routines, called the "Fresh-Squeezed Dance", designed to be performed by its preteen and teenage viewers. Ch ...

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finally (Fergie song) 2006 songs 2008 singles Fergie (singer) songs Songs written by Fergie (singer) Song recordings produced by Ron Fair 2000s ballads Songs written by John Legend Songs written by Stefanie Ridel Pop ballads A&M Records singles Interscope Records singles