"I Finally Understand" (stylized in lowercase) is a song by British singer

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

, released on 7 May 2020 as the third single from her fourth studio album, ''

How I'm Feeling Now ''How I'm Feeling Now'' (stylized in all caps on physical releases, in all lowercase on streaming services) is the fourth studio album by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released on 15 May 2020. Released eight months after her previous ...

''. As with all previous singles from the album, three official covers were released for the song. The song was first announced on Charli XCX's

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

on 2 May 2020.

Composition

"I Finally Understand" is a

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

and

Baltimore club Baltimore club, also called Bmore club, Bmore house or simply Bmore, is a fusion of breakbeat and house genres. It is often referred to as a blend of hip hop and chopped, staccato house music. It was created in Baltimore, Maryland, United States ...

-influenced

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

song described as an "ode to her boyfriend". The song has been described as "

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

-driven" and having "a more straightforward pop format than '

forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama * ''Forever'' (1992 film), an American ...

' or '

claws A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

' but with a no less diverse sonic palette." In the lyrics, she also delves into her struggles with

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

with the line "My therapist said I hate myself really bad."

Critical reception

Callie Ahlgrim and Courteney Larocca both contributed to an article for

Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...

. Ahlgrim wrote that the song was "super catchy, cleaner and more minimalistic than much of the album, and very strong lyrically", while Larcocca found that the track's "steady beat throughout eminded herof Grimes' 'Oblivion'", in addition to "

oving Oving may refer to: *Oving, Buckinghamshire *Oving, West Sussex Oving is a small village, and civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. The village lies about east of the city of Chichester. The civil p ...

how completely overdramatic Charli is about finding a love so strong". Anna Gaca from

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

felt that the song was "devoted to sincere, immediate romance and pleasure". Stereogum listed the song as the 5th best song of the week of 8 May 2020, praising the song for not being "a love song in the stereotypical, classic sense", while finding some lyrics "sexual as all hell", saw "raw vulnerability at work", concluding that the track was at "some level, a dance-pop song, and dance-pop songs almost never get as real as that". Josiah Hughes from

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

called the track an "excellent tune from her endless catalogue of hits" as "Charli XCX's seemingly unstoppable pop reign continues". Mike Wass from Idolator called the song "another flawless banger" as the "anthem deals with matters of the heart", furthermore being "another stellar pop song that benefits from being a little rough around the edges". Wass soon included the track in top thirty best pop songs of Q2, 2020. Josiah Skallerup, writing for Riff Magazine, called the song "one of the most poignant shelter-in-place tunes, built out of a drum-and-bass loop", as the "song chronicles a myriad of feelings that are likely coming up for many of us—insecurity, depression and anxiety—as well as the potential we all have to break through those feelings to heal by tapping into some personal reflection and growth" during quarantine.

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

. *

- lead and backing vocals, songwriting, recording *Benjamin Keating - production, vocal production, songwriting, backing vocals, synthesizer, bass, drums *

A. G. Cook Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music. Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...

- additional production, vocal production, drum programming, synthesizer, bass, drums *Stuart Hawkes - mastering *Geoff Swan - mixing

References

{{Authority control 2020 singles Charli XCX songs Songs written by Charli XCX Songs written by A. G. Cook