"The Lonely" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series '' So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, Perri signed with Atlantic Records and relea ...

. The song was first released to

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on March 29, 2011, the same day that its accompanying lyric video premiered on ''

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''. The video was uploaded onto her official

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account the following day. The song is included on Perri's debut album, ''

Lovestrong ''Lovestrong'' (stylized as ''lovestrong.'') is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Christina Perri. Following the release of Perri's lead single " Jar of Hearts" and a record deal with Atlantic Records, ''Lovestrong'' was rele ...

''. It was released as the first

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

of the album. The song draws inspiration from Perri's life, written about a relationship she had with the emotion of being lonely. Many critics found themselves divided over the song. Most of them positively reviewed the song's chilling tone and powerful lyrics, but many noted that "The Lonely" didn't compare to Perri's lead single, "

Jar of Hearts "Jar of Hearts" is the debut single by American singer Christina Perri. The song was released onto iTunes July 27, 2010, a week after its debut on ''So You Think You Can Dance''. The song was included on Perri's debut EP, ''The Ocean Way Session ...

Background and release

"The Lonely" was co-written by Christina Perri and

David Hodges David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...

. One month prior to the release of ''

'', Perri revealed that three promotional singles were set to be released via

leading up to the album's release. The first of these was "The Lonely" on March 29, 2011. The two other promotional singles were "Penguin" and "Tragedy". Perri released an official

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version of the song onto iTunes on April 5, 2011.

Music and lyrics

Perri wrote "The Lonely" in August 2010 in her driveway at two o'clock in the morning after coming back from a dinner event. She says that when she pulled into her driveway, she realized how alone she was and "cried her eyes out" while writing the song. Perri wrote the song about her relationship with "nobody or with this ghost of somebody". "The Lonely" was intended to be a

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...

loneliness Loneliness is an unpleasant emotional response to perceived isolation. Loneliness is also described as social paina psychological mechanism which motivates individuals to seek social connections. It is often associated with a perceived lack ...

- "the saddest, quietest, most painful kind." While revealing the track to ''

'', Perri gave more insight into the song's message, saying "It's lonely personified. It’s my relationship with no one, and I’m very happy I kept it superdramatic and simple at the same time. It’s me, a piano, plus a nineteen-piece orchestra." "The Lonely" places different periods and events in Perri's past on a "very clear timeline". Perri's voice in the song has been described as somber, complementing its piano melody, which grows louder as the song progresses. The lyrics of the song begin emotionally as Perri sings "2am, where do I begin / Crying off my face again / The silent sound of loneliness / Wants to follow me to bed," only to begin a sad story of losing herself and becoming someone she no longer recognizes: "I’m the ghost of a girl / That I want to be most / I’m the shell of a girl / That I used to know well."

Critical reception

"The Lonely" garnered mixed review by critics, most of whom favored the chilling tone set in the song and compared the song to Perri's lead single "

". Bill Lamb of ''

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'' included the song in a list of the "Top 10 New Pop Songs", "The Lonely" coming in at number five. Lamb complimented the song, describing it as "another beautiful ballad". Naming the song the "power ballad" of ''Lovestrong'', Jody Rosen of ''

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'' complimented the song as "bombastic", including it as a "must hear" in the end of her review. While reviewing the album, Tom Lanham of ''

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'' described the song as a "gorgeous anthem". Chad Grischow of ''

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'' gave the song a negative review, describing it as a sappy string-laced piano ballad that attempted to recreate the "magic" of "

" but lacked its "emotional heart".

Music video

Lyric video

To promote the song, Christina Perri released a lyric video, directed by Elliott Sellers. The video debuted on ''

s website on March 29, 2011, the day of the song's

release. The video was released on Perri's official

account the following day, March 30, 2011. The video begins with an old-fashioned

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

typing out the artist's name and the name of the song. As the song starts, the camera moves away from the typewriter to show a brick wall. A light beams upon the song's lyrics on the wall. As the chorus begins, the lyrics are cut into a board as light beams from behind them. As the song continues, the song lyrics are again typed by a typewriter, until pages are shown burning on the floor with larger letters on them continuing the lyrics. The video ends with a closeup of a candle's wax dripping. The candle is later blown out, signifying the end of the video.

Performances

Perri performed the song on her joint tour with

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

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at "The House of Blues". On July 20, 2011, "The Lonely" was performed on

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. Perri also performed the song as part of her first tour, the

Lovestrong Tour ''Lovestrong'' (stylized as ''lovestrong.'') is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Christina Perri. Following the release of Perri's lead single "Jar of Hearts" and a record deal with Atlantic Records, ''Lovestrong'' was rele ...

, in 2011–2012.

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lonely, The 2011 songs Pop ballads Songs written by David Hodges Christina Perri songs Songs written by Christina Perri Atlantic Records singles 2010s ballads Songs about loneliness Soul ballads