Sincerely, Me Lyrics - Dear Evan Hansen

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

For a show that walks into grief and keeps walking, “Sincerely, Me” is the pressure valve - a precision-timed comic burst that lets the audience breathe without letting the story off the hook. Musically it’s pop-rock with a swing-8ths engine, tight guitar punctuation, and patter-song agility. Dramatically it functions as a montage: Evan and Jared fabricate emails to prove a friendship with Connor, and the song keeps shape-shifting as their story edits itself.

Three performances knit the joke and the ache together. Will Roland’s Jared needles every line. Mike Faist’s “Connor” flickers like a cursor - whatever the boys type, he sings. Ben Platt’s Evan tries to sand down every rough edge until the lie sounds wholesome. The chorus lands like a mission statement: reinvention as self-help slogan and moral trap.

Creation History

Music and lyrics are by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, with vocal arrangements by Justin Paul and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire. Neal Avron’s mix gives the track its pop snap; Tom Coyne’s mastering keeps the sheen while leaving room for comic bite. The album was issued by Atlantic Records, with Stacey Mindich alongside Pasek, Paul and Lacamoire on the production line.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Evan panics after telling the Murphys he and Connor had been emailing. To prop up the story, he and Jared ghost-write an entire correspondence. Onstage, “Connor” materializes and sings whatever they type - an embodied draft where tone changes mid-sentence. The bit escalates from awkward sincerity to absurd lines that Jared slips in, then back to something Evan can sell to grieving parents. It’s brisk, funny, and queasy by design.

Song Meaning

The number satirizes how easy it is to turn reinvention into fiction. Evan doesn’t just forge messages - he writes an alternate version of himself who matters to someone. The pep-talk chorus reads like advice to Connor, but the mirror points at Evan. Mood swings hard: playful verses, then a chorus that sounds earnest until you notice it’s built on falsified proof. Context matters - this laugh track sits between scenes of loneliness. That tension is the point.

Annotations

Though Connor has passed on, his character is singing the email that he supposedly wrote. This not only demonstrates Evan and Jared’s attempts to make the emails sound like Connor, but also shows just how far Evan is willing to go in order to carry out this lie.

Right - the staging makes authorship visible. “Connor” is a puppet whose strings are keystrokes. The comedy lands precisely because we watch the manipulation in real time.

Here, Connor echoes the name of the show and a line from the song Anybody Have a Map… Evan was clearly indifferent towards the idea of writing letters at the time but he, ironically, ends up writing them through these emails where he unintentionally leaves messages to himself.

The self-address comes full circle: “Dear Evan Hansen” was therapy homework; now it’s counterfeit condolence. Either way, the “recipient” is Evan.

Jared jokes throughout the show that the way Evan described his friendship with Connor to Connor’s parents, it sounded like they were “secret gay lovers”… Jared continues playing with this joke, annoying Evan by referencing sexual innuendos.

The innuendo volley isn’t just crass shtick - it’s Jared stress-testing how “real” these emails sound, and needling Evan’s sanctimony while he’s at it.

“This needs to be perfect.”

That line is Evan’s core belief wrapped in panic. If he can get the words perfect, he thinks the mess will behave. Spoiler: it won’t.

“I like my parents” … “Who says that?”

Great little craft note. Evan’s ear for teenage speech is off, so Jared polices the diction. The fabricators are writing toward a reality they don’t fully know.

“If I stop smoking pot / then everything might be alright.”

The drug gag toggles from “drugs” to “crack” to “pot” - you can feel two amateurs arguing over the right prop for their story.

The significance of Evan joining in with Connor in singing the chorus goes beyond just musical appeal… he is enforcing that he actually is part of Connor’s life.

Exactly. The duet is dramaturgy - Evan harmonizes with an invention so he can hear himself as worthy.

Style and arrangement

Under the hood it’s bright pop-rock with swing-8ths, patter-song pacing, and quick rests where the comedy breathes. Guitars jab, drums stay dry, and the vocal stacks keep the chorus buoyant. The emotional arc starts cheeky, turns self-flattering, and ends with both boys chanting themselves into belief.

Cultural touchpoints

“Sincerely, Me” riffs on internet-age identity. The lie isn’t a forged letter in a shoebox - it’s a curated thread. The chorus’s self-help language could live on a motivational poster, which is exactly why it stings here.

Key Facts

• Artist: Mike Faist, Ben Platt & Will Roland
• Composer: Benj Pasek
• Lyricist: Justin Paul
• Producers: Alex Lacamoire; Benj Pasek; Justin Paul; co-producer Stacey Mindich
• Release Date: February 3, 2017 (digital album)
• Album: Dear Evan Hansen (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• Label: Atlantic Records
• Length: 3:42–3:43
• Genre: Show tune, pop-rock
• Instruments: Voice trio, rhythm section, guitars, keys; orchestration by Alex Lacamoire
• Music style: Upbeat piano-rock, swing-8ths feel; comic patter verses and hooky group chorus
• Track #: 4 on the OBC recording
• Language: English
• Notable versions: 2021 film rendition by Colton Ryan, Ben Platt & Nik Dodani
• Rights: Phonographic copyright credited to Autumn Smile Broadway LLC, Atlantic Records, Warner Music Group

Questions and Answers

Who produced “Sincerely, Me”?

Alex Lacamoire with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; Stacey Mindich credited on the album’s production team.

When was it released?

As part of the cast album on February 3, 2017 (digital).

Who wrote it?

Music and lyrics by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul.

Is there a film version, and who sings it?

Yes - the 2021 film features Colton Ryan, Ben Platt and Nik Dodani.

What key and tempo does the OBC track sit in?

Published sources place it around G major at roughly 98 BPM, with swing-8ths feel.

Awards and Chart Positions

Album milestones: the Original Broadway Cast Recording debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 - the highest debut for a cast album since 1961 - and later won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

• Billboard 200 peak: #8
• Top Album Sales: debut at #4; Top Broadway Albums: #1 (same frame)
• Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album (60th GRAMMY Awards)

How to Sing “Sincerely, Me”

For three voices: write your plan like an email thread. Evan stays buoyant and earnest, Jared is talk-sing pointed consonants, “Connor” mirrors whoever’s typing. Aim for crisp diction and fast breath resets between patter phrases.

• Key/tempo feel: commonly in G major around 98 BPM with swing-8ths - lock the backbeat and keep vowels narrow on the quicker lines.
• Blend vs bite: chorus needs bright unison vowels; verses want character color. Think “smile” placement for Evan, dryer, speechier tone for Jared.
• Breath strategy: mark micro-breaths at punctuation; don’t chase the laugh - let rests land.
• Comic timing: pitch accuracy first, joke second. If a gag steps on a cutoff, the next entrance sounds late.

Additional Info

Notable covers and appearances: A high-profile live cover paired Darren Criss with Will Roland and Grant Gustin at Elsie Fest; Michael Lee Brown recorded a one-man three-role video under the show’s banner. The 2021 film mounts a kinetic screen version. Beyond English, the song has circulated in Brazilian Portuguese - you’ll spot titles like “Abraços, Eu!” on stage videos and “Com Carinho, Eu” on localized soundtrack tracklists.