The sci-fi imagery of the video inspired West to take his music in a more futuristic direction. The record began to take definite shape and form upon the creation of the track, which West released as the third album's second single, as well as around the filming of its accompanying music video, which was directed by music video director Hype Williams. The recording sessions for "Stronger" were a turning point in the production process for West's third studio album Graduation, whereas West had been "aimlessly making songs" prior to this. West later met the Daft Punk musicians, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, at Chicago music festival Lollapalooza. The duo, who deeply enjoyed "Stronger", approved of the sample and are credited as co-writers on the track. The use of the sample was requested by West through Pedro Winter, Daft Punk's manager at the time. "Stronger" musically derives from a vocal sample of " Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (2001) by French house duo Daft Punk. The cover artwork features a cartoon version of West's mascot " Dropout Bear" wearing sunglasses similar to those West wears in the music video, as well as the small, trademark robot helmets of the Daft Punk duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. It was designed by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, whom Kanye West collaborated with to produce the artwork for Graduation. The single's front cover art was released on West's website on June 28, 2007. On June 27, 2007, "Stronger" was added to the BBC Radio 1 Up-Front playlist and later upgraded to the A-List a month prior to its release. Prior to release, a portion of "Stronger" was first released in May 2007 on West's Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape. His further work on the song's music video included ten weeks of editing. West's perfectionist approach led to "Stronger" being mixed 75 times. In 2021, the song was included on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Stronger" has since sold five million copies in the United States, and was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2021, making it one of the best-selling singles in the United States. The song's popularity has been credited to not only encouraging other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music, but also for playing a part in the revival of disco and electro-infused music in the ensuing years. It was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 50th Grammy Awards, and was named as one of the best songs of the year by Rolling Stone and Spin. It was a top ten single in ten countries, topping the charts in Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States.
Released as a single on July 31, 2007, "Stronger" would top the Billboard Hot 100 several weeks later, becoming West's third number-one single. Kanye West's look, wearing shutter shades in the music video, became a signature of his in the late 2000s. The single's music video, directed by Hype Williams, features sci-fi imagery based on the 1988 anime film Akira, and was shot largely in Tokyo, Japan. West felt the result he achieved paled in comparison to the sampled original track by Daft Punk, but they were delighted by the song, leading to future collaborations. Although he worked with eight audio engineers and eleven mix engineers around the world for the track, West still felt dissatisfied with the results and decided to enlist the aid of record producer Timbaland in redoing the drum programming to "Stronger" prior to the release of Graduation. The song's production process was arduous, with West and his team reportedly mixing the track over 75 times, including after its release as a single.
West has described the song as an "emancipation" as it allowed him to vent his frustration over mistakes made in the year prior. For the track, West repeats a vocal sample of " Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by French house duo Daft Punk in the background while he delivers lyrics about the resolve that comes when one is faced with adversity, paraphrasing Friedrich Nietzsche's dictum " What does not kill me makes me stronger" for the song's refrain.
Written by a four-man team, the composition is electronic in nature, employing drums and synthesizers as the most prominent instruments. The production was handled by West, with an extended outro co-produced with Mike Dean. " Stronger" is a song by American rapper Kanye West, released as the second single from his third studio album, Graduation (2007).
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