Scars to Your Beautiful


"Scars to Your Beautiful" is a song recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Alessia Cara. Def Jam Recordings and Universal Music Group serviced it to contemporary hit radio on July 26, 2016, as the third single from her debut studio album, Know-It-All. A synth-pop ballad, the song was recorded in 2015 at Glenwood Place Studios, based in Burbank, California, and was written by Cara herself, alongside the song's producers, Pop & Oak, Sebastian Kole, and DJ Frank E. Lyrically, the song is about body positivity.
Upon its release, the song was received positively by music critics, who praised the song for its empowering message and lyrics. Commercially, the single charted at number 14 in Cara's home country of Canada. In the United States, "Scars to Your Beautiful" peaked at number eight. It marked Cara's second top-ten single on US Billboard Hot 100. It also reached the top ten in Australia, Iceland, Slovenia, and Sweden, alongside topping five Billboard charts and the German Airplay chart. Additionally, the single was certified Diamond in Brazil, 6× Platinum in the United States, and 5× Platinum in Australia.
A music video for the song was directed by Aaron A, who had previously produced a music video for her song "Wild Things", and was released on the 11th of July, 2016. An extended play of remixes was released for the song, containing remixes from NOTD and others. The song itself was nominated for numerous awards, including four MTV Video Music Awards, winning in the Best Fight Against the System category. It was also nominated an IHeartRadio Music Award for Best Lyrics, an IHeartRadio MMVA for Canadian Single of the Year, and a Teen Choice Awards in the Choice Music – Female Artist category.

Background

Cara felt motivated to make the song after viewing an episode of Botched. In an interview with Idolator's Mike Wass, Cara stated about the process behind the song:
Cara also noted that the song was inspired by Christina Aguilera's 2002 ballad "Beautiful".

Critical reception

The Guardians Kitty Empire said that "There's substance on Scars to Your Beautiful, where Cara tackles the beauty myth à la Beyoncé. The verses pack some good stuff – 'What's a little bit of hunger? I can go a little bit longer.'" and later went on to say "the thumping motivational chorus merely suggests we are all stars." Katy Iandoli of Idolator stated "Scars to Your Beautiful is a modern-day version of TLC's 'Unpretty', in its acknowledgment of the beauty in both visible and invisible imperfections."
Billboard ranked "Scars to Your Beautiful" at number 77 on their Billboards 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks" list, commenting “Body-positivity anthems typically don't get this dark, but on "Scars To Your Beautiful," Alessia Cara isn't afraid to talk cutting, tears and eating disorders, before getting to the uplifting chorus, where she delivers some of the most empowering, horizon-expanding lyrics of this year: ‘You don't have to change a thing / The world could change its heart.’”

Commercial performance

Canada

Upon its release, the single charted at number 14 on the Canadian Hot 100. It also charted at number 5 on the CHR/Top 40 chart and number 3 on the Canada AC chart, and peaked at the top of the Hot AC chart. It would eventually be certified 8× Platinum by Music Canada for equivalent sales of 640,000 units in the country. By the end of 2016, the single was positioned at number 70 on the Canadian Hot 100.

United States of America

In the United States of America, the single charted at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, alongside charting at number 14 on the Rhythmic Airplay chart and number 9 on the Dance Club Songs chart, and peaking at the top of four Billboard charts in the country, including the Adult Contemporary chart, the Adult Pop Airplay chart, the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, and the Pop Airplay chart. It would eventually be certified 6× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for equivalent sales of 6,000,000 units in the United States. By the end of 2017, the single was positioned at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 10 on both the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and the Mainstream Top 40 chart, and number 4 on both the Adult Contemporary chart and the Adult Top 40 chart. By the end of 2018, the single was positioned at number 33 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Europe

In Austria, the single charted at number 18 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40. In Belgium, the single charted at number 18 on the Ultratip Bubbling Under chart in Wallonia and peaked at number 17 on the same chart in Flanders. In the Czech Republic, the single charted at number 32 on the Singles Digitál Top 100 chart and peaked at number 3 on the Rádio – Top 100 chart. In Denmark, the single charted at number 37 on the Tracklisten chart and was certified 2× Platinum by IFPI Danmark for equivalent sales of 180,000 units in the country. In France, although the single did not chart, it was certified Platinum by the SNEP for equivalent sales of 200,000 units in the country. In Germany, the single charted at number 19 on the GfK Entertainment charts and peaked at the top of the German airplay chart. In Iceland, the single charted at number 4 on the Ríkisútvarpið chart. By the end of 2017, the single was positioned at number 36 on the chart.
In Ireland, the single charted at number 39 on the Irish Singles Chart. In Italy, although the single did not chart, it was certified 2× Platinum by Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana for equivalent sales of 100,000 units in the country. In the Netherlands, the single charted at number 30 on the Single Top 100 chart and peaked at number 7 on the Dutch Top 40 chart. By the end of 2017, the single was positioned at number 36 on the chart. In Norway, although the single did not chart, it was certified Platinum by IFPI Norge for equivalent sales of 100,000 units in the country. Poland, the single charted at number 35 on the Polish Airplay Top 100 chart and was certified 2× Platinum by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry for equivalent sales of 100,000 units in the country. In Portugal, the single charted at number 18 on the Portuguese Singles Chart and was certified 2× Platinum by Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa for equivalent sales of 20,000 units in the country.
In Scotland, the single charted at number 27 on the Scottish Singles Chart. In Slovakia, the single charted at number 37 on their Singles Digital Top 100 chart and peaked at number 7 on their Rádio – Top 100 chart. In Slovenia, the single charted at number 9 on the SloTop50 chart. By the end of 2017, the single was positioned at number 25 on the chart. In Spain, although the single did not chart, it was certified Platinum by Productores de Musica de Espana for equivalent sales of 60,000 units in the country. In Sweden, the single charted at number 10 on the Sverigetopplistan chart and was certified 3× Platinum by Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening for equivalent sales of 120,000 units in the country. By the end of 2016, the single was positioned at number 92 on the chart. In Switzerland, the single charted at number 18 on the Schweizer Hitparade chart. By the end of 2017, the single was positioned at number 74 on the chart. In the United Kingdom, the single charted at number 55 on the UK singles chart and was certified 2× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for equivalent sales of 1,200,000 units in the country.

Other countries

In Australia, the single charted at number 8 on the ARIA Charts and was certified 5× Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for equivalent sales of 350,000 units in the country. By the end of 2017, the single was positioned at number 87 on the chart. In Brazil, although the single did not chart, it was certified Diamond by Pro-Música Brasil for equivalent sales of 250,000 units in the country. In New Zealand, the single charted at number 15 on the Official Aotearoa Music Charts and was certified 4× Platinum by Recorded Music New Zealand for equivalent sales of 120,000 units in the country.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Aaron A, was published on July 11, 2016, with a cameo appearance by fellow singer JoJo. As of September 24, 2025, the video currently has over 156,000,000 views and 3,300,000 likes.

Background

On the concept of the music video, Cara said in an interview with Cosmopolitan: "I wanted to do this kind of video for a very long time. Since we had this song — and since we knew it was going to be a single — I had this vision of many different cinematic shots of different kinds of people. I wanted all kinds of people — young, old, whatever their situation, whether it's visible scars, non-visible scars — just a bunch of different women, and there are some men in there as well because it can reach out to guys too. But I wanted real shots of real people telling their stories, and showing the story through little vignettes."

Usage in media

Track listing

  • CD Single
  1. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 3:50
  2. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 3:19
  • Digital download – Remixes
  1. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 4:22
  2. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 3:19
  3. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 4:28
  4. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 3:51
  5. "Scars to Your Beautiful" – 3:32

Personnel

  • Alessia Cara – vocals, backing vocals
  • Sebastian Kole – keyboards, programming
  • Oak Felder – keyboards, programming
  • Pop Wansel - programming, drum programming