"Imperfection" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Evanescence from their orchestral-

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

fourth studio album, ''

Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors ** Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organ ...

'' (2017). It was released as the lead single from the album on September 15, 2017.

Amy Lee Amy Lynn Hartzler (; born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also particip ...

wrote the song about fighting for one's life, from the perspective of someone left behind after a loss. Produced by Will "Spaceway" Hunt and Lee, "Imperfection" fuses electronic and

symphonic A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

music with trip hop percussion. An accompanying music video was released on October 19, 2017.

Background and composition

"Imperfection" is a song on ''Synthesis''. On the album, the songwriting is credited to Evanescence and

programmer A computer programmer, sometimes referred to as a software developer, a software engineer, a programmer or a coder, is a person who creates computer programs — often for larger computer software. A programmer is someone who writes/creates ...

Will B. "Spaceway" Hunt, with production by Hunt and

. The recording process and making of the song is featured in the documentary ''From the Inside: The Creation of Synthesis'', which was included in the deluxe edition of the album. A clip of it is uploaded to the band's YouTube channel as part of the webisodes titled ''Inside Synthesis''. Lee wrote the song from the perspective of someone "left behind" after a loss to suicide and depression. For Lee, it was the most important song on the album, describing it as a "plea to fight for your life", and not giving in to the fear; "I have to tell myself that every day. Nobody is perfect ... it's precisely those imperfections that make us who we are, and we have to embrace them because there's so much beauty in those differences. Life is worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for.". Lee confessed in 2019 that the song became "more special" to her following her brother's passing in January 2018. "Imperfection" has a "classical base", and fuses electronic and

music with influences from

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, hip hop music and R&B, featuring trip hop beats, a "swaggering cadence" and belting from Lee. On the album, it is preceded by a piano solo that transitions into the song. Lyrically, the track was described by '' NME'' as "an emotional moment dealing with suicide and depression."

Release and reception

"Imperfection" was released as the album's lead single for digital download and streaming on September 15, 2017. '' Rolling Stones Ryan Reed stated that Evanescence "achieve electronic-symphonic symmetry" on the song. Stephen Dalton of '' Classic Rock'' commented that both of the album's new songs are "classy, stadium-sized anthems that couch soaring Bond-theme melodrama in supple trip-hop shudders and sumptuous, vaguely

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string swirls. Kerri-Ann Roper of ''

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'' highlighted "Imperfection" as one of the great tracks on the album. '' Kerrang!''s Sam Law praised the song's composition. Writing for '' Alternative Press'', Jordan Toney said it's "the perfect mixture of classic Evanescence along with mixing in their new sound" and the "quick pacing of Lee's voice almost provides a suspenseful feel that's only relieved when Lee hits those long notes that she can hit so well."

Music video

"Imperfection"'s video premiered first on '' NME'' on October 19, 2017, before being available on Evanescence's YouTube channel. The piano solo that segues into "Imperfection" on the album introduces the song in the video.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Synthesis''. *

– vocals, piano, producer * Will "Spaceway" Hunt – producer, programming, synths, engineer * David Campbell – orchestra arrangement and conducting * Damian Taylor – mixing engineer * Nick Spezia – orchestral engineering * Gary Hedden – additional audio editing * Emily Lazar – mastering engineer * Chris Allgood – mastering assistance

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 songs Electronic songs Evanescence songs Songs written by Amy Lee Symphonic rock songs