As Alive as You Need Me to Be
"As Alive as You Need Me to Be" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails and additional production by Boys Noize. Released on July 17, 2025, it is the lead single from their score for the film Tron: Ares. It is the first Nine Inch Nails release since their collaboration with Health on the song "Isn't Everyone" and their first release since the double release of Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts.
Release and reception
A few days before the song's release, its title was teased on a T-shirt sold at European dates on the band's Peel It Back world tour.The release was accompanied by a lyric video uploaded to Nine Inch Nails' official YouTube channel, as well as a new trailer for Tron: Ares on Disney's channel that prominently featured the song. The release date, track list, and pre-orders for the film's soundtrack were also announced on the day of the song's release.
The song debuted at No. 10 on Billboard's Dance Digital Song Sales chart, and received nominations for the Best Rock Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media, winning the first at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards.
Stereogum described the song as "a fearsome rocker built on retro-futuristic '80s electro synths" with "Reznor real ferocity to his lead vocal", while Uproxx described it as "an electronic banger that could fit on a regular NIN studio album". Furthermore, Revolver characterized the track by its "huge-ass synth-bass rhythms and quake-inducing drum-machine beats a devilishly melodic, distortion-pressed chorus", also theorizing that its "vocoded backups perhaps a nod to previous Tron scorers Daft Punk".