Diva Spotlight - Kelly Clarkson

I only watched the season finale of the original season of American Idol, but it was all I needed to decide at the tender age of 10 years old that Kelly Clarkson would always and forever be my queen. She is an artist that I have no issue spending money on to support, and have in fact purchased every album she’s put out and seen her in concert once with hopes to see her again. She’s AMAZING live – which makes sense, because if she wasn’t she wouldn’t have won American Idol. She is HILARIOUS and a born entertainer. She is unapologetically herself 100% of the time, and that in and of itself makes me feel confident that all those years ago I made a good choice of role model.

If you aren’t familiar with Clarkson, let’s do a brief educational paragraph to start off: -Currently 37 years old -Grew up in Burleson, TX -Won the first season of American Idol in 2002 at the age of 20 -Was a waitress when she tried out for American Idol -Has been married to talent manager Brandon Blackstock since 2014 -Currently is stepmother to Blackstock’s son and daughter from a previous marriage and biological mother to daughter River and son Remington with Blackstock -Currently has put out 8 studio albums, 1 of them being Christmas album Wrapped in Red -Currently has won 71 awards, including 4 American Music Awards, 1 Country Music Association Award, 3 Grammy Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 1 People’s Choice Award, 6 Teen Choice Awards, and 1 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award

For the purposes of this post, I’ll be paying attention to 7 of her 8 studio albums – since it’s January, I won’t talk about Wrapped in Red, but it will definitely feature on future Christmas posts as it’s a great album in its own right.

Thankful (2003) Clarkson’s debut studio album was produced by RCA Records and released in April 2003, 7 months after she won American Idol. This album was a mix of pop and R&B, which in my opinion is a great range for Clarkson’s voice. Since its release, it has sold 2.8 million copies in the US and has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. 3 singles were released from Thankful – Miss Independent (released 4/10/2003), Low (released 8/3/2003), and The Trouble with Love Is (released 11/12/2003). The full album includes 12 tracks and runs about 45 minutes long. I hadn’t listened to this album all the way through in quite a while, but picking my 3 favorite songs from it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Track 2: Miss Independent (written by K. Clarkson, C. Aguilera, R. Lawrence, M. Morris) It’s hard to talk about Kelly Clarkson without talking about Miss Independent. I LOVE this song so much, it’s my favorite of this album, and any time I’ve needed/wanted to make a hype playlist or a female empowerment playlist, this song has definitely been on it. Miss Independent, Miss Self-Sufficient/Miss Keep Your Distance/Miss Unafraid, Miss Out of My Way/Miss Don’t Let a Man Interfere, no/Miss On Her Own, Miss Almost Grown/Miss Never Let a Man Help Her Off Her Throne/So by keeping her heart protected, she’d never ever feel rejected/Little Miss Apprehensive said ooh, she fell in love/What is this feeling taking over, thinking no one could open the door/Surprise, it’s time to feel what’s real/What happened to Miss Independent, no longer need to be the victim/Goodbye, old you, when love is true Track 7: Beautiful Disaster (written by R. Jordan, M. Wilder) This song took some time to grow on me. The older I’ve gotten, the more I love it, especially the live version that’s included on Clarkson’s second album Breakaway. He drowns in his dreams/An exquisite extreme, I know/He’s as damned as he seems/And more heaven than a heart could hold/And if I try to save him, my whole world could cave in/It just ain’t right, it just ain’t right/Oh, and I don’t know, I don’t know what he’s after/But he’s so beautiful, such a beautiful disaster/And if I could hold on through the tears and the laughter/Would it be beautiful, or just a beautiful disaster Track 8: You Thought Wrong (ft. Tamyra Gray) (written by K. Clarkson, T. Gray, K. Edmonds, H. Mason, D. Thomas) 11-year-old me thought this song was SO AMAZING, and honestly 28-year-old me thinks the same. Clarkson sings this song with fellow American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray, who ended up placing 4th, and you can tell throughout the song what a fun time they had making this track together. I see how you’re tryina weasel your way, and boy I/Know how you maneuver, with all your confusion/You tell me that I’m your only, and how bad that you want me/Then why are you so shady if I’m supposed to be your lady/Why should I believe everything you say/And how could you shame me that way/Tell me where, where’d you get the nerve/To even think that you, you could play me, boy/You thought that we didn’t know, you thought we were in the dark/But boy, your cover’s blown, ’cause we both know now/You thought you had us both at your beck ‘n call/But now who’s the joke, and look who’s laughing now

Breakaway (2004) Not only is this my favorite Kelly Clarkson album to date, it’s one of my top 10 albums of all time. I love every single song, I love the pop rock style she used, and I’m really surprised that I didn’t wear this CD out in my portable CD player (hot pink metallic cover that said Princess in gold because I’m a millennial and proud of it). Since the album’s release in November 2004, it has sold over 12 million copies worldwide (making it her best selling album to date) and has been certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA. The full album includes 12 tracks and runs about 44 minutes in length. 5 singles were released from this album: Since U Been Gone (released 11/16/2004), Behind These Hazel Eyes(released 4/12/2005), Because of You (released 8/16/2005), Walk Away (released 1/17/2006), and Breakaway (released 5/30/2006). It was INCREDIBLY difficult picking my 3 favorite songs from the album since I love and know them all, but I did my best. Track 3: Behind These Hazel Eyes (written by K. Clarkson, M. Martin, L. Gottwald) Ok, this was a no brainer for this album because it’s my favorite Kelly Clarkson song period, end of story. When I was in middle school, I had a HUGE fight with my best friend that resulted in us not speaking for literally 4 years, and this song helped 13-year-old me get through that really rough spot. Seems like just yesterday you were a part of me/I used to stand so tall, I used to be so strong/Your arms around me tight, everything, it felt so right/Unbreakable, like nothing could go wrong/Now I can’t breathe, no I can’t sleep/I’m barely hanging on/Here I am, once again, I’m torn into pieces/Can’t deny it, can’t pretend, just thought you were the one/Broken up deep inside, but you won’t get to see the tears I cry/Behind these hazel eyes Track 4: Because of You (written by K. Clarkson, D. Hodges, B. Moody) Oh, Because of You. What an absolutely amazing song. Clarkson originally wrote this song at age 16 to deal with the emotions caused by her parents’ divorce, which are so beautifully raw and shine through in every aspect of this song. As much as I love the duet version she did with her former mother-in-law Reba McEntire, NOTHING in my opinion beats this original. I will not make the same mistakes that you did/I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery/I will not break the way you did, you fell so hard/I learned the hard way to never let it get that far/Because of you, I never stray too far from the sidewalk/Because of you, I learned to play on the safe side so I won’t get hurt/Because of you, I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me/Because of you, I am afraid Track 9: You Found Me (written by K. DioGuardi, J. Shanks) I really like that this song features later on in the album, because it’s a really sweet hopeful note at the end of a lot of sadness. While this song never singled from the album, I’ve always really loved it, especially the older I’ve gotten and the more mature my relationship with my husband has gotten. Is this a dream/If it is, please don’t wake me from this high/I’ve become comfortably numb/Until you opened up my eyes/To what it’s like when everything’s right, I can’t believe/You found me when no one else was looking/How did you know just where I would be/You broke through all of my confusion/The ups and the downs and you still didn’t leave/Iguess that you saw what nobody could see, you found me/You found me

My December (2007) In my brain, I refer to My December as Clarkson’s “angry album.” It’s way more rock influenced, which I really enjoyed a lot as I think it fits her voice really, really well. The tone is definitely darker than her previous two albums, but I think it was necessary to help grow her musical portfolio and ended up working in her favor. Since the album released in June 2007, it has sold over a million copies worldwide and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The full album includes 13 tracks and runs about 51 minutes in length. Four singles were released from this album: Never Again (released 4/24/2007), Sober (7/10/2007), One Minute (9/22/2007), and Don’t Waste Your Time (11/16/2007). Like with Thankful, I hadn’t listened to this entire album in quite a while and forgot just how much I enjoy all the tracks, but I was able to narrow down my three favorite songs. Track 1: Never Again (written by K. Clarkson, J. Messer) Clarkson comes out SWINGING right off the bat with Never Again being the first track on the album. It’s angry, it’s edgy, it’s awesome, and it leaves you excited for the rest of the album. I hope the ring you gave to her turns her finger green/I hope when you’re in bed with her, you think of me/I would never wish bad things, but I don’t wish you well/Could you tell by the flames that burned your words/I never read your letter, ’cause I knew what you’d say/Give me that Sunday school answer, try to make it all ok/Does it hurt to know I’ll never be there/Bet it sucks to see my face everywhere/It was you who chose to end it like you did/I was the last to know you knew exactly what you would do/And don’t say you simply lost your way/She may believe you, but I never will/Never again Track 4: Sober (written by K. Clarkson, J. Messer, A. Eubanks, C. McEntire) Kind of like with Beautiful Disaster, this song took a while to grow on me and the older I’ve gotten, the more I love and appreciate it. As you gain more life experience, you learn that getting sober doesn’t necessarily have to deal with an addition to a substance – it can also deal with an addiction to a relationship. And I don’t know, this could break my heart or save me/Nothing’s real until you let go completely/So here I go with all my thoughts I’ve been saving/So here I go with all my fears weighing on me/Three months, and I’m still sober/Picked all my weeds, but kept the flowers/But I know it’s never really over Track 13: Irvine (written by K. Clarkson, A. Eubanks, J. Messer) I’m not sure if this is what Clarkson was going for with this song, but my interpretation has always been that this song is a sort of prayer. She’s just talking through her pain and hoping that whoever she’s talking to understands what she does, feels what she does, and can empathize with her. Are you there, are you watching me/As I lie here on this floor/They say you feel what I do/They say you’re here every moment/Will you stay, stay ’til the darkness leaves/Stay here with me/I know you’re busy, I know I’m just one/But you might be the only one who sees me/The only one to save me/Why is it so hard/Why can’t you just take me/I don’t have much to go/Before I fade completely

All I Ever Wanted (2009) If I had to pick a least favorite album of Clarkson’s, it would probably be this one. It is WAY more Pop infused than any of her other albums, and to me it’s like that feeling when you come out of a dark tunnel and into blinding sunlight that almost hurts. The album definitely has some good songs on it, don’t get me wrong, but it was almost too much for me after My December. Since the album’s release in March 2009, the album has sold over 1 million copies in the US. The full album includes 14 tracks and runs about 50 minutes long. Five singles were released from this album: My Life Would Suck Without You (released 1/13/2009), I Do Not Hook Up (released 4/14/2009), Already Gone (released 8/11/2009), All I Ever Wanted (released 3/9/2010), and Cry (released 3/12/2010). This album was a little harder to pick my three favorite songs off of (I had two right off the bat but the third was difficult), but here they are. Track 1: My Life Would Suck Without You (written by L. Gottwald, C. Kelly, M. Martin) This song is absolutely the best song on the album and one of Clarkson’s most popular of all time. The subject material of being angry at someone but realizing you can’t live without them mixed with the colorful pop melody is a really fun contrast for sure. Guess this means you’re sorry, you’re standing at my door/Guess this means you take back all you said before/Like how much you wanted anyone but me/Said you’d never come back, but here you are again/’Cause we belong together now, yeah/Forever united here somehow, yeah/You got a piece of me, and honestly/My life would suck without you Track 3: Cry (written by K. Clarkson, J. Halbert, M. Townsend) Here’s Clarkson’s big emotional track of this album, and it really, really works. I think this song is so beautiful and does a really good job encapsulating the feeling of being recently brokenhearted and learning how to deal with the sudden changes in your life. Glee covered this song and revealed another layer I hadn’t considered before, where it doesn’t necessarily have to be about a breakup with a significant other but breaking up with a dream or a goal that didn’t end up the way that you wanted. If anyone asks, I’ll tell them we both just moved on/When people all stare, I’ll pretend that I don’t hear them talk/Whenever I see you, I’ll swallow my pride and bite my tongue/Pretend I’m okay with it all, act like there’s nothing wrong/Is it over yet/Can I open my eyes/Is this as hard as it gets/Is this what it feels like to really cry/Cry Track 9: Whyyawannabringmedown (written by S. Watters, L. Biancaniello, D. Aranda) I only learned that this song is a cover from rock band Aranda as I was doing the research for this post. I have a really good time listening to this song – it’s definitely a headbanger, it’s fast past, and it’s just a really fun song to get hyped up to. This situation, if it gets any deeper, could be critical/I’m not your love monkey, so be taking back all of the lies you sold/What did you want me to be, yeah/It’s just too much now, so tell me, so tell, me, so tell me, one, two, three, four/So what’s your evil attitude when you got me spending my time pleasing you/Why must you keep me underground, tell me, tell mewhyyawannabringmedown/Is that too much to give a damn when I’m giving you one hundred and ten/Don’t blink, ’cause I won’t be around, tell me, tell me whyyawannabringmedown

Stronger (2011) Clarkson got back to more of a pop rock sound with Stronger, which was definitely a relief, but for some reason I forget about this album a lot despite liking some of the songs off of it. Since the album’s release in October 2011, it has sold over 1.1 million copies in the US and has been certified platinum by the RIAA, her first album to do so in its first five years. The full album has 13 tracks and runs about 47 minutes long. The album released 3 singles: Mr. Know It All (released 9/5/2011), Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) (released 1/17/2012), and Dark Side (released 6/5/2012). This is probably the Kelly Clarkson album I’ve listened to the least amount all the way through, and I ended up somewhat surprising myself with my picks for my three favorite songs. Track 1: Mr. Know It All (written by B. Seals, E. Dean, B. James, D. Jones) Ok, this one wasn’t a surprise, because it’s one of my top 5 favorite Kelly Clarkson songs to date. This song is so POWERFUL and has a powerful video to match (check it out here: https://youtu.be/0C_oNMH0GTk). The overall theme: don’t tell her who she is and what she can or can’t do, because you don’t know her as well as she knows herself. Mr. Know It All, well you, you think you know it all/But you don’t know a thing at all, ain’t it, ain’t it something, y’all/When somebody tells you something ’bout you, think that they know you more than you do/So you take it down, another pill to swallow/Well, Mr. Bring Me Down, well you, you like to bring me down, don’t you/But I ain’t laying down, baby, I ain’t going down/Can’t nobody tell me how it’s gonna be, nobody gonna make a fool outta me/Baby, you should know that I lead, not follow/Oh, you think that you know me, know me/That’s why I’m leaving you lonely, lonely/’Cause baby, you don’t know a thing about me/You don’t know a thing about me Track 6: Einstein (written by K. Clarkson, T. Gad, B. Kelly, J. Fauntleroy) This song is a little corny, but I really love it anyway. It reminds me a lot of Hilary Duff’s song The Math for some reason, which was one of my favorite tracks off of her Metamorphosis album. Simple math, our love divided by the square root of pride/Multiply your lies plus time, I’m going out of my mind/It was heavy when I finally figured it out alone/I didn’t get it the first time/Don’t think I’ve been so blind/And I may not be Einstein, but I know dumb plus dumb equals you/Dumb plus dumb equals you/Dumb plus dumb equals you, you Track 12: You Can’t Win (written by K. Clarkson, J. Abraham, O. Goldstein, F. Bloxsom) For some reason I never think that this song is on this album and I have no idea why. I really like the message of this song, especially in the culture we find ourselves in today – you can’t please everyone, so just do your thing and let them do theirs. If you go, they’ll say you’re following/If you don’t, then you’re too good for them/If you smile, you must be ignorant/If you don’t, what’s your problem/If you’re down, so ungrateful/And if you’re happy, why so selfish/You can’t win, no/You can’t win, no/The one who doesn’t quite fit in/Under dressed, under your skin, oh/A walking disaster/Every time you try to fly/You end up falling out of line, oh/You can’t, you can’t win, no

Piece By Piece (2015) Even though she’d released Wrapped In Red, this was Clarkson’s longest gap between “regular” albums to date and I was SO STOKED when it was released. It’s a lot more dance and electro pop influenced than her previous albums, but I thought it worked and is a great addition to her repertoire and has a lot of good songs on it. Since its release in February 2015, the album has sold 284,000 copies in the US and is certified Gold by the RIAA. The full album includes 13 tracks and runs about 50 minutes in length. Three singles released from this album: Heartbeat Song (released 1/12/2015), Invincible(released 5/18/2015), and Piece By Piece (released 11/9/2015). I always have a good time listening to this album and it wasn’t too hard to pick my three favorites. Track 1: Heartbeat Song (written by K. DioGuardi, J. Evigan, A. Mae, M. Allan) This song is such a bop. Hearing Clarkson sing a lighthearted, happy song about the beginning of a good, happy relationship is like a breath of fresh air, and it’s such an easy song to dance to. You, where the hell did you come from/You’re a different, different kind of fun/And I’m so used to feeling numb/Now, I’ve got pins and needles on my tongue/Anticipating what’s to come/Like a finger on a loaded gun/I can feel it rising, temperature inside me/Haven’t felt it for a long time/This is my heartbeat song and I’m gonna play it/Been so long, I forgot how to turn it up, up, up, up all night long/Oh, up, up all night long/This is my heartbeat song and I’m gonna play it/Turned it on, but I know you can take it up, up, up, up all night long/Oh, up, up all night long Track 5: Piece By Piece (written by K. Clarkson, G. Kurstin) Without a doubt, this song makes me tear up every time I hear it. Inspired by Clarkson’s relationship with her own father, husband, and daughter, it’s been confirmed by her to be a “follow up” piece to Because of You and it definitely shows. It reminds me a lot of a father relationship someone very incredibly important to me has, so it stays really close to my heart. And all I remember is your back/Walking towards the airport, leaving us all in your past/I traveled fifteen hundred miles to see you/Begged you to want me, but you didn’t want to/But piece by piece, he collected me up off the ground where you abandoned things/And piece by piece, he filled the holes that you burned in me at six years old/And no, he never walks away, he never asks for money/He takes care of me, he loves me/Piece by piece, he restored my faith that a man can be kind and a father could stay Track 13: Good Goes the Bye (written by S. McAnally, N. Hemby, J. Robbins) This final track on the album took me by surprise on how much I liked it. I love the words, the beat, the melody – it’s a really excellent mixture. They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day/But you and I went and built it anyway/And it only took a second to watch it all fall to dust/I thought you hung up the moon/And you thought I lit up the room/But the lights turned off and it was the end of us/Slam goes the door, hush goes the phone/Out goes the flame, and I’m standing here alone/Burn goes the drink, down go the tears/Drip goes the sink, and I’m missing you like hell/Break goes the heart, wrong goes the right/Good goes the bye

Meaning of Life (2017) Pardon the language, but holy SHIT do I love this album. It’s definitely #2 behind Breakaway for me. Prior to this album, the closest to this soul R&B sound Clarkson had gotten was on Thankful and the return to this sound was so unbelievably exciting. You can tell in every track how much of herself Clarkson poured into the work and how much fun she had making it. Since the album’s release in October 2017, it has sold 68,000 copies in the US. The full album includes 14 songs and runs about 44 minutes long. So far, three singles have been released from the album: Love So Soft (released 9/7/2017), I Don’t Think About You (released 2/9/2018), and Heat (released 7/27/2018). While I love the whole album, I definitely have three favorites right off the bat. Track 2: Love So Soft (written by J. Shatkin, P. Renea, M. McDonald) In my brain, I call this song “Kelly’s Triumphant Return to Soul,” and it really truly feels that way. The video is so fun to watch, and Clarkson’s vocals in this song are INSANE and truly show off her crazy range. Ever kiss is a door/Can I knock on yours, can we knock a little more/If a touch is a key/Keep on twisting, keep on locking, keep on turning me/Let me in/I wanna be closer to you, let you under my skin/If I let you in/You gotta be careful with it, let me tell you again/Love so soft, you ain’t had nothing softer/Break it then you buy it and it’s sure gonna cost ya/Love so soft that you can’t rub off/You gon’ love it if you try it, got you hooked, now you’re caught up/Love so soft, so soft/Love so soft, so soft Track 5: Move You (written by N. Ruth, A. Kuney, M. Kestner) The first time I heard this song, it truly blew me away. This is one of the songs that I use to explain my emotional feelings towards my husband, and it’s really amazing both lyrically and musically. Like a montage in a movie right before the hero dies/Like the first time that you listen to your favorite singer live/Like an echo in a canyon, like tears but you’re not sad/Like a sunrise on a mountain, I wanna move you like that/Oh, I wanna move you like that Track 6: Whole Lotta Woman (written by K. Clarkson, B. Coney, D. Andrews, E. Barnes, J. Shatkin, J. Karvinen) DAMN this song is an ANTHEM. Having seen Clarkson live in concert, I would KILL to see her perform this one live because I feel like this is how she lives her life and how I would love to live mine – loving what I look like and how I feel and not letting anyone tell me otherwise. You ain’t know, Texas women do it bigger/In the South, it gets no realer, baby/Pot full of grits, I’m hotter than your mama’s supper, boy/Better get with it, better watch your mouth, I might burn you, boy/You go downtown to work, good love like dessert/If you scared, go to church, whoo hoo, I’m a lover/Hold on tight, little country boy/I ain’t no girl, I’m a boss with orders/All I’m needing is a baby love me/Like a warm biscuit on a Sunday morning/I got what you want, I’m aiming to please/I got what it takes, I sure got the means/I got what you want, sugar, honey, iced tea/All eyes on me, oh, oh, baby/I’m a whole lotta woman, from the way I walk and toss my hips/Hey, I’m a whole lotta woman, from the sound of my voice to the gloss on my lips/I’m a whole lotta woman, anything I see, I want, I get/I’m a strong bad ass chick with classic confidence, yeah

I have been so excited to write this post and share my thoughts about one of my all-time favorite artists with ya’ll. Hope you enjoyed, and see you next week!