I Finally Understand

"I Finally Understand" is a UK garage and Baltimore club-influenced{{cite web|url=https://www.thefader.com/2020/05/07/listen-to-charli-xcxs-new-single-i-finally-understand|title=Listen to Charli XCX's new single "i finally understand"|author=The Fader|work=The Fader|date=7 May 2020|access-date=7 May 2020}} electropop{{cite web|url=https://www.idolator.com/7910249/another-banger-charli-xcx-drops-i-finally-understand|title=Another Banger! Charli XCX Drops "I Finally Understand"|work=Idolator|author=Mike Wass|date=May 7, 2020}} and Eurodance{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/charli-xcx-how-im-feeling-now|title=Charli XCX - how i'm feeling now|last=Warrender|first=Megan|website=Clash|date=15 May 2020|access-date=15 May 2020|archive-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523033921/https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/charli-xcx-how-im-feeling-now|url-status=live}} song described as an "ode to her boyfriend".{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/charli-xcx-i-finally-understand-apple-beats-1-zane-lowe-995463/|title=Charli XCX Drops Ode to Her Boyfriend 'I Finally Understand'|author=Clare Shaffer|publisher=Rolling Stone|date=7 May 2020|access-date=7 May 2020}} The song has been described as "groove-driven" and having "a more straightforward pop format than 'forever' or 'claws' but with a no less diverse sonic palette."{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/pop/charli-xcx-i-finally-understand/|title=Charli XCX's Groove-Driven 'I Finally Understand' Is Her Latest 'How I'm Feeling Now' Preview|author=DERRICK ROSSIGNOL|website=Uproxx|date=7 May 2020|access-date=7 May 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/Charli-XCX-Shares-New-Single-I-Finally-Understand-20200507|title=Charli XCX Shares New Single 'I Finally Understand'|author=TV News Desk|website=Broadway World|date=7 May 2020|access-date=7 May 2020}} In the lyrics, she also delves into her struggles with mental health with the line "My therapist said I hate myself really bad."{{cite web|url=https://www.papermag.com/charli-xcx-i-finally-understand-2645943699.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5|title=Charli XCX Finds Clarity on 'i finally understand'|last=Moen|first=Matt|website=Paper|date=8 May 2020|access-date=8 May 2020}}

Callie Ahlgrim and Courteney Larocca both contributed to an article for Insider. Ahlgrim wrote that the song was "super catchy, cleaner and more minimalistic than much of the album, and very strong lyrically", while Larcocca found that the track's "steady beat throughout [reminded her] of Grimes' 'Oblivion'", in addition to "[loving] how completely overdramatic Charli is about finding a love so strong".{{Cite web|last=Callie Larocca|first=Courteney Ahlgrim|title=Charli XCX's 'How I'm Feeling Now' is a masterclass in experimental pop for the genre-less generation|url=https://www.insider.com/charli-xcx-how-im-feeling-now-review-tracklist-breakdown-2020-5|access-date=26 September 2020|website=Insider}} Anna Gaca from Pitchfork felt that the song was "devoted to sincere, immediate romance and pleasure".{{Cite web|last=Gaca|first=Anna|title=Charli XCX: how i'm feeling now|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/charli-xcx-how-im-feeling-now/|access-date=26 September 2020|website=Pitchfork|language=en}} Stereogum listed the song as the 5th best song of the week of 8 May 2020, praising the song for not being "a love song in the stereotypical, classic sense", while finding some lyrics "sexual as all hell", saw "raw vulnerability at work", concluding that the track was at "some level, a dance-pop song, and dance-pop songs almost never get as real as that".{{Cite web|date=2020-05-08|title=The 5 Best Songs Of The Week|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2083693/the-5-best-songs-of-the-week-334/franchises/list/the-5-best-songs-of-the-week/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Stereogum}} Josiah Hughes from Exclaim! called the track an "excellent tune from her endless catalogue of hits" as "Charli XCX's seemingly unstoppable pop reign continues".{{Cite web|last=Hughes|first=Josiah|title=Charli XCX Finally Understands on New Single "I Finally Understand"|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/charli_xcx_finally_understands_on_new_single_i_finally_understand|access-date=26 September 2020|website=Exclaim!|language=en}} Mike Wass from Idolator called the song "another flawless banger" as the "anthem deals with matters of the heart", furthermore being "another stellar pop song that benefits from being a little rough around the edges". Wass soon included the track in top thirty best pop songs of Q2, 2020.{{Cite web|last=Wass|first=Mike|date=2020-07-07|title=The 30 Best Pop Songs Of Q2, 2020|url=https://www.idolator.com/7912339/the-30-best-pop-songs-of-q2-2020|access-date=2020-09-26|website=Idolator}} Josiah Skallerup, writing for Riff Magazine, called the song "one of the most poignant shelter-in-place tunes, built out of a drum-and-bass loop", as the "song chronicles a myriad of feelings that are likely coming up for many of us—insecurity, depression and anxiety—as well as the potential we all have to break through those feelings to heal by tapping into some personal reflection and growth" during quarantine.{{Cite web|last=Skallerup|first=Josiah|date=2020-05-15|title=REVIEW: Charli XCX shares a future pop diary while sheltering in place on 'How I'm Feeling Now'|url=https://riffmagazine.com/album-reviews/charli-xcx-how-im-feeling-now/|access-date=2020-09-26|website=RIFF Magazine|language=en-US}}

Credits adapted from Tidal.{{cite web|url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/140506094/credits|title=I Finally Understand by Charli XCX|website=Tidal|access-date=7 May 2020}}

• Charli XCX - lead and backing vocals, songwriting, recording
• Benjamin Keating - production, vocal production, songwriting, backing vocals, synthesizer, bass, drums
• A. G. Cook - additional production, vocal production, drum programming, synthesizer, bass, drums
• Stuart Hawkes - mastering
• Geoff Swan - mixing

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Category:2020 singles

Category:Charli XCX songs

Category:Songs written by Charli XCX

Category:Songs written by A. G. Cook