Kelly Clarkson Drops 'Mr. Know It All' Video
With her fifth studio album, "Stronger," due next month, platinum-selling singer Kelly Clarkson has debuted the music video for lead single, "Mr. Know It All," directed by Justin Francis. The original "American Idol" champ faces many of her demons in the video (outlined on a self-titled "Wall of Doubt") yet comes out on top via one of her trademark uplifting ballads.
When we first heard Kelly Clarkson‘s latest single, “Mr. Know It All,” we figured that, thematically, it was a fairly straightforward kiss off to an ex that did her dirty. This was backed up by Clarkson’s introduction to the song at the iHeartRadio festival over the weekend in which she dedicated the song thusly: “If you’ve ever dated anyone that’s a know it all, this one’s for you.” However, after watching the video for the song that debuted in the wee hours this morning, it’s apparent that there’s another target for her ire: The media.
The video opens with Clarkson sitting on top of a suitcase, all alone in a large room. Closer inspection of the walls reveals that it isn’t a hideous wallpaper pattern that Kelly is sitting in front of, but rather, a collection of nasty headlines and stories about Clarkson’s label drama and relationship woes, all culled from newspapers and tabloid magazines. And they say print media is dead!
However, it turns that it’s not just old media that’s got Kelly down. The blogs are on her case, too! There’s a scene where Kelly is watching video of herself drunkenly dancing on top of a bar, which we can only assume is a reference to the videos posted to YouTube last year of Clarkson drunkenly singing karaoke with her friends. Next, a screenshot of a fictional gossip blog called P Gossip appears on screen, the text of which was pulled (and edited EVER so slightly so as to avoid plagiarism charges) from a website called Kovideo.net. You see, P Gossip got their hands on a leak of Kelly’s new single, which is something that Kelly had to deal with in real life this summer, too (a situation she described as being “worse” than being physically robbed).
So, with every media entity from low-level gossip blogs to organizations that can actually afford newsprint on her case, what’s a girl to do? Thankfully, Kelly Clarkson is a down home girl at heart; unlike paparazzi targets like Lindsay Lohan (who takes to the clubs after ditching the paps in her “Rumors” video) or Britney Spears (who flees the big city with Guillermo Diaz after paparazzi Terminators try to whack her in her “I Wanna Go” video), Clarkson realizes that the best way to cope in a situation like this is not to run away. Instead, she tears down the headlines that plaster her wall, which we quickly realize isn’t a wall at all. It’s actually a window! SCORE!And it’s a beautiful day outside! DOUBLE SCORE! And it appears to be the same stretch of road Madonna walked down in her “Don’t Tell Me” video! TRIPLE SCORE!
So, what did we (and Kelly) learn? Basically, this: Whether you’re a big music superstar or someone whose only exposure to the rumor mill comes courtesy of Facebook, gossip is unavoidable. How you choose to react to the haters, however, is entirely up to you. You can wallow in their nasty comment sections (or op-ed pages!), but at the end of the day, wouldn’t you rather go outside and see the sunshine? Kelly Clarkson would, that’s for sure.
"I think there's that free-spirit side of me, and then there's that feisty performer in me," Clarkson told MTV News. "Then there's the funny side of me. I mean, obviously you have to be funny to have a big giant wall of doubt with actual headlines of your life on the wall. It's a little fun, a little feisty."
Aside from being fun and feisty, "Mr. Know It All" has also had some chart success. Out only two weeks, the single debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and currently sits at No. 35.
In the lyrics, Clarkson stands strong against the naysayers in her life: a presumed former love interest and music industry doubters who've tried to typecast her. Sings a defiant Clarkson in the track's chorus:
"Oh you think that you know me. That's why I'm leaving you lonely. 'Cause baby you don't know a thing about me. You don't know a thing about me."
As luck would have it, "Mr. Know It All" was actually a last-minute effort in the recording sessions for the new album. "That song came out of nowhere," said Clarkson. "And luckily it did, because everybody fell in love with it." Writing credits include Brett James (Carrie Underwood), Ester Dean (Beyoncé, Usher), Dante Jones, and Brian Kennedy (Chris Brown, Rihanna, Backstreet Boys), who doubled as the song's producer.
Is Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” Actually About Her Disdain For The Media?
Aside from being fun and feisty, "Mr. Know It All" has also had some chart success. Out only two weeks, the single debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and currently sits at No. 35.In the lyrics, Clarkson stands strong against the naysayers in her life: a presumed former love interest and music industry doubters who've tried to typecast her. Sings a defiant Clarkson in the track's chorus:
"Oh you think that you know me. That's why I'm leaving you lonely. 'Cause baby you don't know a thing about me. You don't know a thing about me."
As luck would have it, "Mr. Know It All" was actually a last-minute effort in the recording sessions for the new album. "That song came out of nowhere," said Clarkson. "And luckily it did, because everybody fell in love with it." Writing credits include Brett James (Carrie Underwood), Ester Dean (Beyoncé, Usher), Dante Jones, and Brian Kennedy (Chris Brown, Rihanna, Backstreet Boys), who doubled as the song's producer.
Is Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All” Actually About Her Disdain For The Media?
When we first heard Kelly Clarkson‘s latest single, “Mr. Know It All,” we figured that, thematically, it was a fairly straightforward kiss off to an ex that did her dirty. This was backed up by Clarkson’s introduction to the song at the iHeartRadio festival over the weekend in which she dedicated the song thusly: “If you’ve ever dated anyone that’s a know it all, this one’s for you.” However, after watching the video for the song that debuted in the wee hours this morning, it’s apparent that there’s another target for her ire: The media.
The video opens with Clarkson sitting on top of a suitcase, all alone in a large room. Closer inspection of the walls reveals that it isn’t a hideous wallpaper pattern that Kelly is sitting in front of, but rather, a collection of nasty headlines and stories about Clarkson’s label drama and relationship woes, all culled from newspapers and tabloid magazines. And they say print media is dead!
However, it turns that it’s not just old media that’s got Kelly down. The blogs are on her case, too! There’s a scene where Kelly is watching video of herself drunkenly dancing on top of a bar, which we can only assume is a reference to the videos posted to YouTube last year of Clarkson drunkenly singing karaoke with her friends. Next, a screenshot of a fictional gossip blog called P Gossip appears on screen, the text of which was pulled (and edited EVER so slightly so as to avoid plagiarism charges) from a website called Kovideo.net. You see, P Gossip got their hands on a leak of Kelly’s new single, which is something that Kelly had to deal with in real life this summer, too (a situation she described as being “worse” than being physically robbed).
So, with every media entity from low-level gossip blogs to organizations that can actually afford newsprint on her case, what’s a girl to do? Thankfully, Kelly Clarkson is a down home girl at heart; unlike paparazzi targets like Lindsay Lohan (who takes to the clubs after ditching the paps in her “Rumors” video) or Britney Spears (who flees the big city with Guillermo Diaz after paparazzi Terminators try to whack her in her “I Wanna Go” video), Clarkson realizes that the best way to cope in a situation like this is not to run away. Instead, she tears down the headlines that plaster her wall, which we quickly realize isn’t a wall at all. It’s actually a window! SCORE!And it’s a beautiful day outside! DOUBLE SCORE! And it appears to be the same stretch of road Madonna walked down in her “Don’t Tell Me” video! TRIPLE SCORE!
So, what did we (and Kelly) learn? Basically, this: Whether you’re a big music superstar or someone whose only exposure to the rumor mill comes courtesy of Facebook, gossip is unavoidable. How you choose to react to the haters, however, is entirely up to you. You can wallow in their nasty comment sections (or op-ed pages!), but at the end of the day, wouldn’t you rather go outside and see the sunshine? Kelly Clarkson would, that’s for sure.