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Album: Kelly Clarkson - 'Stronger'
Member Since: 8/24/2008
Posts: 40,827
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Quote:
Originally posted by KevinKDC
WDKY is #31 now and #15 Pop !!
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Member Since: 6/26/2011
Posts: 7,393
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Review: Kelly Clarkson Provides a Master Class in Pop Singing in 'Stronger'
By Chris Willman
Kelly Clarkson’s new album has been subject to more delays than the NBA season. But apparently the perpetual tweaking was a matter of fine-tuning, not desperation, since “Stronger” lives up to its title -- trumping not just the current pop-diva competition but all of Clarkson’s previous albums, too.
Whether the general public has been waiting on tenterhooks for the record remains to be seen, since the lead single, “Mr. Know It All,” peaked at No. 18 in its debut week. But there are six, seven, maybe eight tracks here better than that okay opener waiting to break away and get a shot at commandeering the radio. As a succession of potential smashes, “Stronger” feels like tuning in to an expertly programmed all-Kelly/all-the-time hits station.
That’s giving a lot of inherent credit to the revolving door of writer-producers responsible for the parade of hooks, almost all of them new to Clarkson’s team. (No Dr. Luke this time; no Ryan Tedder.) Still, no one’s likely to tag “Stronger” as “a producers’ album” when it manages to be such a master class in great pop singing.
Part of greatness is restraint, and what a pleasure it is hearing Clarkson hold herself back here, if that doesn’t sound too counterintuitive. There’s hardly a showboat-y moment in an hour’s worth of lead vocals here. At times, in her lowest range, she even sounds like a dead ringer for Rihanna -- which is hardly the highest compliment you could pay a singer of Clarkson’s range, but it does give her a starting point from which to graduate to the kind of wailing fans are waiting for.
If it’s balladic Kelly that thrills you, you may need to hold out for some future project Clarkson is destined to record her middle age, since only two out of the 13 tracks on the standard edition fall outrightly into that category. “Stronger” is for fans who prefer fun Kelly, or angry Kelly… which have come to be pretty much the same thing, come to think of it.
For someone who still enjoys an image as America’s duly elected sweetheart, Clarkson gets a lot of mileage out of righteous rage. The pissy post-breakup rejoinders begin with “Mr. Know It All” and rarely let up, least of all with the likely second single, “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger),” a soon-to-break-out dance track in which Clarkson all but declares that “I, the Nietzschean superman, will survive.”
(Never mind how tired that tune’s titular phrase is. For a laugh, look up the YouTube video in which some wag mashed together a medley of 30 different songs that already borrowed “That which does not kill me makes me stronger” as a lyrical hook. Compared to this, Britney’s “Hold It Against Me” is based on an original thought.)
“Stronger” really does get stronger as it goes along.
The rocker “Einstein” sounds like it might’ve been written for Pink, though it probably wasn’t, since Clarkson gets a co-writing credit. Against guitar squalls and live drums, she does the romantic math (“Our love divided by the square root of pride… It was heavy when I finally figured it out”) and concludes that “dumb plus dumb equals you,” a formula that will surely help kids get interested in arithmetic this fall.
Two albums ago, on the underrated “My December,” Clarkson seemed to be indulging an Amy Lee complex, and it returns with a brilliant vengeance on the hyper-dramatic “Honestly,” a far better Evanescence song than anything on the new Evanescence album.
“Dark Side” cleverly reinforces the idea that Miss American Idol has a shadow side with a spooky music-box melody that cuts in every time the big beat and goth histrionics briefly cut out. By contrast, “I Forgive You” sounds like nothing but power-pop fun, even though its Cars-style rock rif***e and synth gurgles lead into a surprisingly cathartic expression of absolution.
The best is saved for almost last: “You Can’t Win,” another guitar-driven barnstormer, benefits from a series of exceedingly sharp verses that prove why modern life is just like Vietnam: “If you’re thin/Poor little walking disease/If you’re not/They’re screaming disease,” goes one couplet, and the woman knows whereof she speaks. “If you dump, so ungrateful/And if you’re happy, why so selfish?/You can’t win…”
Oh, but she can. “Stronger” has its cake and eats it, too -- by marrying pure ear-candy arrangements to Clarkson’s flawless, effortlessly fluid soul-rock vocals, and by embedding vividly conjured emotions in up-tempo tunes that never get too bogged down in their own seriousness. Thanks to records like this, ten years later, she’s still the only Idol that matters.
http://www.thewrap.com/music/column-...32120?page=0,1
Chris Willman writes for TV Guide, New York magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Yahoo! Music, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He is the author of the book Rednecks and Bluenecks: The Politics of Country Music.
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Member Since: 6/10/2011
Posts: 12,511
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Quote:
Originally posted by Solarie
She might be Billboard #1
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I doubt 
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Member Since: 6/26/2011
Posts: 7,393
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Popcrush gave it a 4.5/5 rating
http://popcrush.com/kelly-clarkson-s...-album-review/
Kelly Clarkson’s relationship with commercial success is a thorny one. From the slick pop-R&B of her debut, ‘Thankful,’ to relentless Dr. Luke-helmed smashes on ‘Breakaway,’ to the darkly artistic rock of ‘My December,’ and back to sticky-sweet pop on ‘All I Ever Wanted,’ Clarkson has always seemed at her most comfortable when she’s at her least commercial; she was more in her element making weird, haunting, self-penned rock on ‘My December’ than singing Max Martin’s likably adolescent ‘My Life Would Suck Without You.’
Clarkson didn’t write every song on ‘Stronger’ — for this album, she’s worked with well-known hitmakers like Greg Kurstin, Toby Gad, and even Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins — but she’s credited on most of these tracks, and her stamp is all over them. ‘Stronger’ is crunchy, personal, and frequently rageful in the way ‘My December’ was, but rich with as many searing pop hooks as ‘Breakaway.’ Sonically, it’s tempting to see ‘Stronger’ as the culmination of her last four albums, due to its effortless integration of rock, country, dance, and R&B influences into Clarkson’s signature pop.
‘Stronger’ is also a bitter, blistering album, which is part of what makes it so much fun to listen to. Whereas lesser artists would be contented to wallow in self-pity on weepy ballads, Clarkson’s anger is surging and jubilant, gritted teeth and raised fists. Pair emotion as passionate as that with a crack team of the industry’s finest writers and producers, plus Clarkson’s still-sensational vocal gifts, and you’ve got a recipe for one of the strongest pop releases of the year.
1. ‘Mr. Know It All’
The first single from ‘Stronger’ is more understated than what we’re used to hearing from Clarkson, but no less powerful for its gentleness. Even if Clarkson holds back a little on the vocals, when she sings “You don’t know a thing about me” over that driving ‘90s backbeat, it’s a truly magic pop moment.[Listen Here]
2. ‘What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)’
‘What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)’ is the likely second single, and with good reason; it’s a glittery disco-rock romp punctuated by another chill-inducing Clarkson message of empowerment, “Doesn’t mean I’m lonely when I’m alone.” Electric guitars and powerful synths make this an instant sing-along classic.[Listen Here]
3. ‘Dark Side’
One of the best-received early leaks among Clarkson fans, ‘Dark Side’ grapples with authenticity in romance. The saccharine tinkle of a music box yields to atmospheric drums and another pounding chorus as Clarkson wonders “Everybody’s got a dark side / Do you love me / Can you love mine?”[Listen Here]
4. ‘Honestly’
The first real ballad on the record is one of Clarkson’s most stunning to date, airy and theatrical; “You can judge me, love me/If you’re hating me, do it honestly,” Clarkson intones in the chorus. But it’s the bridge that really shines, as the escalating drums start to feel a little claustrophobic and Clarkson murmurs “You can tell me, you can tell me.”
5. ‘You Love Me’
An ‘80s track that sounds like the theme song to a lost John Hughes movie, ‘You Love Me’ might just be our favorite song on this album; it’s New Wave-referencing rock with a pointed pop sensibility. Plinking synths yield to a triumphant, wounded chorus, as Clarkson sings, “You said you love me but that I’m not good enough, not good enough.” Stunning and heartbreaking.[Listen Here]
6. ‘Einstein’
Clarkson’s always been gifted with the art of the pop diss, and this album’s funniest might be in ‘Einstein,’ where she sings on the chorus: “I may not be Einstein but I know dumb + dumb = you.” Layers of background vocals and roaring electric guitars give the goofy lyrics an appealingly ominous edge.
7. ‘Standing in Front of You’
A ballad rooted in soft rock and country, ‘Standing in Front of You’ is buoyed by a powerful vocal performance from Clarkson, but that doesn’t entirely redeem it. After the edgy pop-rock of the first six tracks, this one feels a little damp.
8. ‘I Forgive You’
Another immensely promising demo that leaked months ago is the anthemic, Darkchild-produced ‘I Forgive You,’ which packs in another belter of a chorus above whining guitars and punchy drums. But despite the message of the chorus, when Clarkson sings, “Cause the lights are on/And there’s no one home,” it looks like forgiveness might not be so easy after all.
9. ‘Hello’
This swinging midtempo is, like ‘Mr. Know It All,’ something of a ‘90s throwback, but it definitely works, especially with the hooky chorus and heartbroken ferocity of the bridge: “Holding onto the memories of when I, I didn’t know / Ignorance isn’t wise but it beats being alone.”
10. ‘The War Is Over’
A striking ballad with throbbing drums and gorgeous layered vocals that, in some respects, evokes ‘Already Gone’ from Clarkson’s 2009 ‘All I Ever Wanted.’ When Clarkson sings, “All I can say is / You don’t deserve me / You don’t deserve me,” it’s hard not to get a little misty.
11. ‘Let Me Down’
Another early favorite with serious single potential, ‘Let Me Down’ has an oddly paranoid, dissonant vibe in its verses, and the crackliest, angriest chorus on the whole record. “You’re only gonna let me down / When it counts, you count down / You’re only gonna turn me out / As I burn, you burn out.” Ouch.[Listen Here]
12. ‘You Can’t Win’
Thoroughly likable power pop, in which Clarkson takes a stab at the haters and naysayers, addressing long-running rumors about her weight, sexuality, and image: “If you’re thin / Poor little walking disease / If you’re not / They’re all screaming obese.” This one serves a very utilitarian purpose on the album, and it does it quite well.
13. ‘Breaking Your Own Heart’
This track gives Kelly more space to take the reins on a classic soft rock ballad; but like ‘Standing in Front of You,’ after all that edge, it doesn’t quite pack the punch it should.
Deluxe Edition:
14. ‘Don’t You Wanna Stay’
This duet with Jason Aldean, released last year, doesn’t mesh particularly well with the rest of the album (which is probably why it’s relegated to the deluxe edition) — but it does serve as a reminder of just how versatile Clarkson is an artist, since she sounds just as comfortable on this country ballad as she does on bracing rock tracks.
15. ‘Alone’
One of the best songs on the album, ‘Alone’ cribs from ‘80s acts like The Cars to sensational effect — swaggering and euphoric, it also contains another killer Clarkson slam: “‘Cause when I’m with you I’m alone.” Even her simplest digs just cut so deep.
16. ‘Don’t Be a Girl About It’
This one starts like her 2009 hit ‘I Do Not Hook Up,’ then turns into a funky little meditation on gender roles like Katy Perry’s ‘Hot ‘N Cold’ — but the chorus remains entirely irresistible.
17. ‘The Sun Will Rise’
Another duet, this time with former ‘Idol’ judge and superstar songwriter Kara DioGuardi, this moody midtempo borrows from country and arena rock to create a sound that’s distinctly Clarkson.
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Member Since: 5/5/2011
Posts: 16,846
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Quote:
Originally posted by tell_me_a_lie
As from the info i saw just less than an hour ago, Kelly charted # 6 for deluxe and # 18 for standard, if combined, stronger will chart at least # 5. 30,000 is too much, isn't it?
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Those are physical albums !! She is also #1 for the mp3 downloads !! So I think she is deff going to sell +200k
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Member Since: 6/26/2011
Posts: 7,393
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Super long, but really great interview with Yahoo's Lindsey Parker. She's like a die-hard all thing idol fan, lol.
Kelly Clarkson on Her Dark Side, The Vanilla Factor, and 10 Years of Being Miss Independent
by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks
http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/rea..._MhF7rWnbNwSUv
It's hard to believe that it's been almost 10 years since original Idol Kelly Clarkson stood on that Fox soundstage, showered in confetti and happy tears, as she belted out her winning anthem, "A Moment Like This." It was the finale that launched dozens of copycat reality shows and nine subsequent "Idol" winners, but a moment like that certainly won't happen again.
Now, as Kelly releases her excellent fifth (yes, FIFTH!) effort, Stronger--an album so eagerly anticipated it was almost sabotaged by multiple unauthorized leaks, until Kelly finally decided to leak the tracks herself--she's as popular as ever. She's in fact a bona fide national treasure, right up there with Carrie Underwood atop the list of most successful Idols of all time. Which begs the question: How has Kelly managed to turn a three-month stint on a TV talent show into a legitimate A-list pop career, when so many other Idols have been dropped from their labels and left to fade into footnote obscurity? It can't just be because she was the first, or because she's an amazing vocalist. There has to be something else.
"I think a lot of singers get into this business for the wrong reasons, and people see through that," Kelly muses over the phone as she prepares to board a transatlantic flight to, ironically, an "X Factor U.K." taping. "I think they want to be really famous, and it's like, if you want to be in the music industry, that shouldn't be your goal. Your goal should be to make music. I don't want to be the most famous person in the world; I just want to make enough to pay my band, and to live, and then I'm good. I don't have this desire to be this huge megastar. I just love singing, and that's it. And I think a lot of other people get lost in the rest of it."
But that doesn't mean that Kelly thinks shows like "Idol" (which she still watches) and "The Voice" (which she "looovvves") can't still produce real pop stars, with real careers like the one she's enjoyed for the better part of a decade. "Most definitely they can, yeah!" she insists. "This is just the new way. Like even Justin Bieber, he was discovered online. It's a new generation of how people are getting in the door of the music industry. I don't think it has anything to do necessarily with a show. I think it has to do with the artist. It's what you do with that 15 minutes. 'Idol' is the biggest show on television, so you're gonna get that spotlight--but it's what you do with it. But there's been a lot of success with Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Adam Lambert...there have been a ton of us who have done really well."
To say that Kelly Clarkson has "done well" is, as is typical of a humble Southern sweetheart like Kelly, quite an understatement. The girl has sold more than 11 million albums domestically, and has won two Grammys, 12 Billboard awards, three VMAs, and two American Music Awards...basically, she is what everyone who auditions for "American Idol" aspires to be. But it hasn't always been easy for Kelly. The media's invasion into her personal life and scrutiny of her physique has certainly been one hurdle. From Justin To Kelly was another. But she has also quite famously battled with her record label, RCA--most publicly regarding her "difficult" (and underrated) third album, My December, the 2007 release of which was surrounded by gossip about label honcho Clive Davis chewing her out in board meetings and offering her $10 million to replace five of the album's self-penned tracks with songs of his own choosing. (She refused.) Kelly says recording the aptly titled Stronger was a "piece of cake," but points out that that was certainly a new experience for her.
"What's so funny is EVERY album has been difficult, NOT just My December," she reveals. "My first album was the hardest album I've ever made in my life! Oh my God, it was so hard! I had to cry to get 'Miss Independent' on there. They wanted me to just sing ballads, and I was like, 'I'm 20 years old! I wanna sing some fun stuff! I don't wanna sing ballads my entire career, that sounds boring!' That was a really big battle for me. The first four albums were all really difficult for me."
It's interesting that "Miss Independent" was such an issue for Kelly and RCA back in 2002, since it was the arguably the song that set the template for the independent-minded Idol's signature fist-pumping sound, up to and including Stronger. "Exactly!" Kelly gasps. "That song ended up being number one for like, seven weeks. And I was like, 'Hey, remember that time I had to cry to get it on there?' Ha!"
Stronger--a dancey, Tina Turner/Prince-inspired, relentlessly upbeat affair that Kelly dubs "The Cardio Album"--is of course filled with more independent anthems, mostly about the subject Kelly seems to know best: bad boyfriends who must eventually eat her dust and/or their little hearts out. The disc only further cements her status as the Pat Benatar of our time...and this comparison seems to mean more to her than even the most glowing praise Simon Cowell ever gave her. "Okaaaaay, first of all--THANK YOU! That's an awesome compliment, and undeserved, but I'm gonna take it!" she laughs. "I do get what you're saying as far as the intense factor. Pat was intense. She sang heart-wrenching songs. It's so funny you mention Pat Benatar, because we were talking about covering 'Love Is A Battlefield.' And I love a great lyric, and I love being relatable. I love lyrics. I'm very much a lyric person."
Kelly sure is relatable, judging from the feedback that breakup blitzkriegs like "Miss Independent," "Since U Been Gone," "Never Again," and new Stronger tracks like "Mr. Know It All," "What Doesn't Kill You," "Don't Be A Girl About It," and "Einstein" (genius chorus: "dumb plus dumb equals you") have received from her fans, especially the female ones. "Every girl that walks up to me, I kid you not, the first thing that comes out of her mouth is, 'Oh my God, you got me through my breakup!'" Kelly admits. "I'm always like, 'I'm sorry...and you're welcome!' I don't know what to say! So I'm a person you go listen to when you're in a crap mood and pissed off? But I love singing feisty music, intense stuff. I'm kind of an extremist, and I just don't think there's any other way for me."
Kelly's bloodletting, soul-baring lyrics have naturally invited that aforementioned media scrutiny of her personal life, but she insists that not all of her love-gone-wrong songs are entirely autobiographical. "Honestly, a lot of songs that people think are about a relationship with a guy, they're generally not," she claims. "It's a metaphor. It's generally about something else going on in my life, whether it's someone that I work with or a family situation, whatever. I haven't had a bad relationship in years! I definitely have had one, so any time I have to sing a song about it, I obviously have some experience to pull from, but a lot times that's not the inspiration. Like, [Stronger's] 'You Love Me' is not about a guy. That's about a work relationship where I got my heart completely ripped out. But people will listen to it and go, 'Oh man, some dude broke her heart!' Well, no."
One of Stronger's strongest bad-love tracks is "Dark Side," the chorus of which declares, "Everybody has their dark side." So what is Kelly's dark side, exactly? Once again, Kelly dips into metaphor. "I think everybody's dark side is the same thing," she contemplates. "The most horrible part of humanity is if you're alone. I think that's your darkest. When you're in a new relationship, whether it's a friendship or a boyfriend or girlfriend, there comes a point where you're like, 'Am I going to let you in here, or am I just going to stay by myself because this is comfortable and I'm not going to get hurt if I don't let you in?' I think everybody has that in them. And I think that's the dark side for me: choosing to be alone just because I'm scared of what might happen. It's like, 'If I let this wall down, are you going to stick around, or are you going to be like those other people?'"
And this here is the REAL reason why Kelly has managed to sustain the success that has eluded so many other reality contestants and singers in general: She really means what she sings. It's one thing to have the technical skills, and quite another to deliver a performance that'll raise hairs on listeners' necks and goosebumps on their arms. "I call it 'The Vanilla Factor,'" Kelly says of singers who are missing that sort of deeper emotional connection. "It's like, 'Oh man, you sing really well, but I don't buy it. I don't think you've ever had your heart ripped out like this song is describing, because if you had, you would be singing it very differently.' Especially on 'Idol,' where there's so many singers coming through. Technically, they're perfect, but I don't feel it. And then you can listen to someone who's not perfectly on key all the time, like Bono, but he's one of the best singers ever. He's an emotional singer. Everything he does, you believe it. And that believability is so important."
Indeed it is, and that sort of believability might be making a comeback thanks to career artists like Kelly. "I think it always goes in phases. And right now, I do think it's coming back around to people wanting to hear SINGERS," says Kelly hopefully. "Adele is the best testament of that. Her music is doing so well right now, and nobody thought that would happen. But in a word of Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, I think it's the difference of having all that crazy stuff going on onstage, and then you have Adele come out with just a piano and a microphone, and she floors everybody. Everybody's like, 'What just happened?' There's a revival of that."
And there's a Kelly revival going on as well, as Stronger's release eclipses the current and upcoming albums of various other reality also-rans. While Kelly is still trying to figure out just how she'll celebrate her 10-year "Idol" anniversary and right-around-the-corner 30th birthday, and she pooh-poohs rumors that she'll record a country album ("If I were to make just a country album, I would lose a little bit of me, so I don't think I'd ever do that; I'd rather get together with a couple other singers and do like a folksy, singer-songwriter, rootsy thing"), she is excited about her journey ahead.
"I'm so looking forward to my thirties, you have no idea," she gushes. "Everyone's twenties are all about searching and finding yourself. Every year, I was different! My twenties were a rollercoaster ride, so I'm looking forward to smooth sailing in my thirties. My audience is growing up with me, and I think that's good. I don't know what my music will always sound like, but I know it will always change."
But something tells me one thing about Kelly will never change: She will always be awesome, and she'll always be Miss Independent.
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Member Since: 6/29/2011
Posts: 10,190
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Quote:
Originally posted by Solarie
She might be Billboard #1
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Proof?
Mr. Kia - # 51, WDKY - # 30
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Member Since: 8/30/2011
Posts: 6,407
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Stronger has at least two reviews with scores of 90 or higher. This is gonna be good 
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Member Since: 5/5/2011
Posts: 16,846
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chivas
Stronger has at least two reviews with scores of 90 or higher. This is gonna be good |
Well not all our Metacritic....
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Member Since: 8/29/2011
Posts: 9,504
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Quote:
Originally posted by North & South
Review: Kelly Clarkson Provides a Master Class in Pop Singing in 'Stronger'
By Chris Willman
The best is saved for almost last: “You Can’t Win,” another guitar-driven barnstormer, benefits from a series of exceedingly sharp verses that prove why modern life is just like Vietnam: “If you’re thin/Poor little walking disease/If you’re not/They’re screaming disease,” goes one couplet, and the woman knows whereof she speaks. “If you dump, so ungrateful/And if you’re happy, why so selfish?/You can’t win…”
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Great review...but she does not say dump  
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Member Since: 6/6/2011
Posts: 29,899
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Ryan your thread is so much fun
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Member Since: 8/30/2011
Posts: 6,407
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Quote:
Originally posted by KevinKDC
Well not all our Metacritic....
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They'll be added soon. She's gotten an A- (91) and a 4.5/5 (90)
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 11/22/2010
Posts: 10,773
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I swear people need to learn the fundamentals of reading comprehension....
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 11/22/2010
Posts: 10,773
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Quote:
Originally posted by Mzd
Ryan your thread is so much fun
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People are so clueless.
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Member Since: 1/28/2009
Posts: 20,640
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I love What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) 
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Member Since: 10/16/2011
Posts: 2,642
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30. What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - Kelly Clarkson +1 top 30
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Member Since: 6/6/2011
Posts: 29,899
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ryan
People are so clueless.
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My tea is apparently to strong for everyone over there since they ignore it 
Whatever, they just jealous of our KC and her flawless song writing 
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Member Since: 10/17/2011
Posts: 8,965
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Quote:
Originally posted by dhilamilan1899
30. What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - Kelly Clarkson +1 top 30
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That to me screams "HIT before it's even released as a single!"
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Member Since: 5/5/2011
Posts: 16,846
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Quote:
Originally posted by Chivas
They'll be added soon. She's gotten an A- (91) and a 4.5/5 (90)
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Really they are from metacritic ?? OMG that is soo good !!
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Member Since: 8/30/2011
Posts: 6,407
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Quote:
Originally posted by KevinKDC
Really they are from metacritic ?? OMG that is soo good !!
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I'm assuming they'll be added to her metacritic score. If not, they will need to talk to me
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