"I Wanna Get Better" is the debut single by American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

act

Bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

, released on February 18, 2014 through

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. The song is from their debut studio album '' Strange Desire'', and was written and produced by frontman

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...

and John Hill. "I Wanna Get Better" topped the ''

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chart, becoming the band's first number-one single, and also reached the top ten of the

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chart. Its accompanying music video stars Antonoff as a therapist and was directed by his then girlfriend, actress and filmmaker

Lena Dunham Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...

Composition

"I Wanna Get Better" incorporates cut-up

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notes and samples into its arrangement; Antonoff's vocals range from

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to "shout-along anthemic." Antonoff considers the song his "mission statement" because it goes through every bad thing that has happened to him. Antonoff has stated that "the message is heavy, it’s not dumbed down" with the verses being literal and the inspiration coming from a place of sorrow following the events of

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, his sister's death in 2002, and his cousin's death during the

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in 2003. In regards to the line "lost control when I panicked at the acid test", Antonoff has stated that he "had a horrible experience" with

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

and it changed his life.

Music video

The official music video for "I Wanna Get Better" premiered on March 27, 2014, and was directed by actress and filmmaker

, frontman Jack Antonoff's then girlfriend. Antonoff described working with Dunham as "fun", adding: "I didn't have to do anything. I felt, obviously, completely supported. It was nice to be in a position where you can’t fuck up." The video depicts a day in the life of a therapist (Antonoff) who, after getting dumped by his girlfriend ( Kimiko Glenn), proceeds to his office and meets a variety of clients, all of whom are depicted describing their own personal problems. Comedian

Retta Marietta Sangai SirleafJung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018

and actor Mike Doyle play a couple who are suffering from marital problems while actor

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plays a highly-strung patient who gets distracted by "Bring Your Daughter To Work" Day. Actress

Mary Kay Place Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series '' Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

plays a patient who is accused of creating "drama" because she thinks her husband is having an affair and the therapist does not believe her. Musician Arrow De Wilde appears in the video as a sullen, disaffected teen. Throughout the video, the cast are filmed lip-synching to the song's lyrics and sometimes even playing instruments as the band members.

Critical reception

"I Wanna Get Better" received critical acclaim, with some reviewers labeling it as one of the best songs of 2014. Michael Tedder of ''

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'' lauded the song, writing that it is "an example of an artist so succinctly summing up their entire raison d’etre in one song that the accompanying album becomes superfluous". Tim Sendra of

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called "I Wanna Get Better" a "flat-out excellent pop song", while Josh Terry of ''

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'' felt it was one of the album's best tracks due to its "abounding optimism, complete with a monster, scream-it-at-the-top-of-your-lungs chorus". A staff member for Sputnikmusic described the track as "upbeat, anthemic, sweeping, and memorable". Both Jon Dolan of ''

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'' and Mat Smith of '' Clash'' named "I Wanna Get Better" the highlight track from the album. A more mixed opinion came from Mack Hayden of '' Under the Radar''; he praised "I Wanna Get Better" and fellow ''Strange Desire'' track "Rollercoaster" as "great pop rock singles", but commented that "if you can listen to them more than three times without looking for something better, you're a more generous listener than me".

Personnel

Credits sourced from the official Bleachers YouTube channel *

- lead and backing vocals, piano,

Roland Juno-6 The Roland Juno-60 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by the Roland Corporation between 1982 and 1984. It followed the Juno-6, an almost identical synthesizer released months earlier. The Juno synthesizers introduced Roland's digitally control ...

, electric guitar, Akai Professional MPC Studio Slimline

Chart performance

Commercially, "I Wanna Get Better" remains the most successful Bleachers single to date. In the United States, it peaked at number one on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

, number ten on the

chart, and number five on the

Rock Airplay The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart. It was later certified platinum by the

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, denoting shipments of over 1,000,000 copies. The single also achieved international success, peaking at number fifty-two on the Belgium

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Flanders chart, twenty-one on the

Canada Rock The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart, eighty-one on the

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, and number forty-nine on the Mexico Ingles Airplay chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 debut singles Bleachers (band) songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Jack Antonoff Songs written by John Hill (record producer) Song recordings produced by John Hill (record producer) Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff