The Stranger (Ingrid Andress song)

Upon enrolling at Berklee College of Music, Andress joined the a cappella group Pitch Slapped. The group took part on the second season of American television singing competition The Sing-Off, finishing in last place.[1][2] Andress returned to the competition for the next season as part of a different a cappella group, finishing sixth.[1] After she graduated, American songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who was Andress' professor at the college, signed Andress to her music publishing company Arthouse Entertainment.[3] In 2018, Warner Music Nashville signed Andress as a recording artist.[3]

Musically, "The Stranger" is a country song.[4] Andress wrote it with Ryan Lafferty and handled the production with Sam Ellis. "The Stranger" was recorded at Rosebank Studio and The Planetarium, and mixed at Sonic Element Studio.[5] The 2017 version of the track lasts for three minutes and seven seconds, while the 2020 version lasts for five more seconds.[6][5] The song discusses a fractured relationship.[4][7] In an interview with Teen Vogue, Andress stated that she "wanted to weave in how unrealistic our generation's idea of romance tends to be", elaborating: "Most songs either talk about being super in love or not in love anymore, and there's never an in-between."[8] Olivia Ladd of The Boot affirmed that "The Stranger" is "about the idea of love that her generation picked up from romanticized movies" and "[they] portray relationships as easy, but the song's lyrics look at it as a choice that requires hard work".[9] CMT's Samantha Stephens described the song as a "haunting, piano-driven expose".[7] Writing for The New York Times, Jon Caramanica claimed that Andress sings "full of resignation, to a lover who's grown distant" the line "You play the stranger, I'll play the girl at the bar".[10]

"The Stranger" was released as Andress' debut single by the company and What Is an Ingrid for digital download and streaming on February 4, 2017.[10][6] Warner Music Nashville issued a press release in May 2020, announcing that the song will be sent to American country radio stations on June 1 as a new single from Lady Like (2020).[11] A reimagined version of the track was also released in August 2020 by Warner Music Nashville and was later included on the deluxe edition of her debut album, which was released on October 2, 2020.[12][13]

"The Stranger" was met with positive reviews from music critics. Caramanica deemed it "an elegant evocation of corrosive loneliness" and praised Andress' vocals.[10] Teen Vogue's Gabe Bergado also complimented Andress' vocal delivery, stating that the song "shows off [Andress'] beautiful vocals backed by an elegant piano melody".[8] Billy Dukes of Taste of Country declared that "heavy chords add importance to the mellifluous presentation" of the track and it "gives major Brandi Carlile vibes by the end".[4] Melinda Newman from Billboard considered "The Stranger" to be an "ethereal track".[14] The staff of ABC News Radio called it an "emotional power ballad".[15] Jeremy Chua, writing for Sounds Like Nashville, deemed it a "stellar ballad".[16] Commercially, the song peaked at numbers 49 and 54 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, respectively.[17][18]

The first music video for the song was released on February 22, 2017, via CMT. It was directed by Lauren Jenkins.[19] The second video was directed by Emma Higgins and released on March 27, 2020, coinciding with Lady Like's release.[11][8] In the latter visual, different couples are shown looking each other in the eyes.[8] It was filmed in a house in Beverly Hills, California. Andress revealed to CMT that when she entered the house she was scared by a parrot, wishing in retrospect she would have included it in the video "somehow".[20] Bergado noticed the inclusion of same-sex couples, to which Andress responded by saying that she "feel[s] extremely lucky to have this kind of platform to help spread love and awareness" and was hoping "videos like [hers]" would "help" country music "move forward".[8] CMT's staff called the second visual "stunning".[20] Andress sang the track at WDSY-FM on June 18, 2019.[21] In 2020, she performed it during Country Radio Seminar's New Faces of Country Music event in February and at YouTube Space New York in May, respectively.[9][22]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lady Like.[5]

Recording and management

• Recorded at Rosebank Studio (Nashville, Tennessee) and The Planetarium (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Mixed at Sonic Element Studio (Los Angeles, California)
• Mastered at Georgetown Masters (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Published by Songs of Universal Inc. / What Is an Ingrid / Straight from the Art Music (BMI); BMG Platinum Songs US / SWMBMGBMI (BMI)

Personnel

• Sam Ellis – songwriter, producer, additional engineering, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, B3, programming, digital editing, background vocals
• Ingrid Andress – lead vocals, songwriter, producer, piano, background vocals
• Ryan Lafferty – songwriter
• Thomas Dulin – additional engineering
• Erik Madrid – mixing
• Aaron Matters – mixing assistant
• Court Blankenship – production assistant
• Jared Kneale – drums
• Justin Schipper – steel guitar
• Andrew Mendelson – mastering