"Stronger" is a song recorded and performed by American singer

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

, with

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

from

Esther Dean Esther Renay Dean (born April 15, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actress. Dean has also written songs for many artists, with numerous Top 10 hits, including No. 1 hits for Rihanna and Katy Perry, earning the name ...

and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

, who provide backing vocals. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

documentary film ''

More Than a Game ''More than a Game'' is a 2008 American documentary film that follows basketball superstar LeBron James and four of his teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Akron, Ohio, and James's journey to fame. The film ...

'', and included on the international version of her ninth studio album, ''

Stronger with Each Tear ''Stronger with Each Tear'' is the ninth studio album from American R&B and soul singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. The album was released in the US on December 21, 2009, under Blige's own imprint, Matriarch Records. Internationally it was rele ...

'' (2010). It was released as the first single from the soundtrack to

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

on August 18, 2009. Additionally it was sent to US radio on September 8, 2009. Blige performed the song on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' on September 11, 2009. She also performed it on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' on September 23, 2009.

Background and release

The song deals with issues surrounding people standing by one another through the difficult times. Blige sings "Now we're stronger... stronger... stronger..." referencing that relationships have more strength once they have been tested and people stand by each other. The song was produced by

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977, or 1978), professionally known as Polow da Don, is an American record producer and rapper. Jones has produced a variety of singles for a multitude of artists including "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj (2014) ...

and Hit-Boy especially for the ''

Music Inspired by More Than a Game ''Music Inspired by More than a Game'' is the official soundtrack album name for music taken from and inspired by the documentary film ''More than a Game''. The film is centered on the life of LeBron James and was released in October 2009. The s ...

'' which is the official soundtrack album to the film ''

''.

Music video

The music video, which premiered on August 21, 2009, features Blige singing in a quarry and amidst clouds. Footage from ''More Than a Game'' is interspersed throughout, and the video begins and ends with quotations by

. The video was directed by

Anthony Mandler Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...

Charts

References

{{Mary J. Blige singles 2009 singles Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler Song recordings produced by Polow da Don Song recordings produced by Hit-Boy Songs written by Polow da Don Songs written by Hit-Boy Songs written by Ester Dean Songs written by Chris Brown 2009 songs Geffen Records singles