#56

#56. London Grammar - Strong (#10, 2013)

10th of 2013

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Something always interesting in the world of popular music is how often you just can't really account for taste. You can do all the focus testing that's feasible, but it can mean nothing once a song is out in the world and you can witness just how everyone responds to it. One of the biggest overhauls we've witnessed in the 2020s is seeing so many bands and artists who you'd rightly assume would never get a foot in the door, suddenly thrive under the circumstances. The investment to open that door was often not worth the effort when there's always a more proven formula coming elsewhere. Sometimes the audience does the work for you and you can pounce, but even then, it's not always certain that it will work. It's not always as simple as seeing something perform well and then pouncing on it, because isolated and mass appeal are two very different beasts.

This is the quandary that I think London Grammar's label was facing in 2013. They were always weirdly placed, part of the Ministry of Sound lineup despite being very far removed from the brand of electronic music that's associated with. They largely were pushing out ballads and building an audience from that, something that validated itself when "Strong" became their biggest hit by far.

I find myself wondering how much it all went to plan. Perhaps it was always earmarked as the hit, but one with an odd marketing position. If you put yourself in the mindset of early 2010s radio, you wouldn't associate it much with sparse ballads unless Adele was steering the ship (ironically, "All Of Me" by John Legend was perched at #1 when "Strong" hit the charts but you can't really plan for that). You'd never think to put "Strong" on the radio next to Avicii & Pitbull. There was an ace up the sleeve however, because part of the single package that was produced for "Strong" was a remix by High Contrast. That remix turns the song into a drum & bass song with a fair amount of pomp. It has the same driving pace as Rudimental's "Feel The Love", while still capturing the core components of "Strong". I was pretty opposed to the remix initially on principle but I warmed up to it as being very good for what it is.

The remix was what got sent to the radio and played, which is probably a job done well that worked on the surface. I just can't help but wonder if it was a missed opportunity to take the risk with the original version. Rather than widening their portfolio, it feels more like they cut off the main source. It was the original version that far outsold the remix, which might be a case of SEO trust, where people are more likely to buy the more popular version without thinking too much of it, but I think it speaks to that unaccountable taste index. I listen to "Strong", a song I immediately latched onto, as a song that just immediately cuts through its surroundings. It's a song that stands out, makes you notice, and does so in a way that feels like it can be trusted as the real deal. It's felt more clear over the years, as the song seems to resonate especially strongly whenever it appears as a needle drop anywhere, coming from the clouds to re-enter the ARIA Charts multiple times. Maybe it's a bit much to expect it to go all the way when it's competing with the reign of Pharrell's "Happy", but I can't help but wonder if this admittedly very successful #4 hit could've gone a little higher if more people could've heard the original version. Maybe there was just too much focus on the seemingly winning precedent set by Lana Del Rey, another artist who got onto the radio that year with remixes. In either case, it's become clear where audiences really side on this. I should clarify in all of this that triple j were playing the original version, and I suspect that's what everyone was voting for. It capped off a very strong first appearance in the Hottest 100, leading their three appearances that year and finishing in the top 10.

"Strong" was for me, a song I adored instantly. It wasn't long after it was released, when the song very quickly made an impression and became a top 20 hit in the UK. There was every chance it'd quickly sink away, but I think it once again showed its worth when it managed to hang around for 7 weeks in the top 40 over there. I'm inclined to say that this song singlehandedly sold the album to me, as it felt like revealing the fruits of London Grammar's potential. It's all pure dramatics with loud keys & Hannah's singing, but they know to make it stand out. Unlike a lot of ballads that just rest on the emotional resonance, "Strong" manages to be surprisingly catchy, with its changing, often countering melodies, and tendency to resolve on a minor chord to maintain the tension. I've seen comparisons drawn to Coldplay's song "Trouble", mainly because both songs use the phrase 'caught in the middle' in the same way. Combine that with the A1 song literally called "Caught In The Middle", and there's something to be said of London Grammar mining a familiar, successful phrase. It's always been the line that stood out the most for me.