The iTunes 12 Days of Christmas: Kelly Clarkson on the ease of recording Stronger
Leah Collins Dec 28, 2011 9:00 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 27, 2011 3:25 PM ET
Jemal Countess / Getty Images
Kelly Clarkson, the "queen of breakup" and breakout hits.
From Dec. 26 to Jan. 6, National Post readers can download free music, TV episodes and apps from some of the biggest stars on iTunes. Each free download will be available for 24 hours only on nationalpost.com/12days. Today, Leah Collins on Kelly Clarkson.
Reflecting on how her fifth album, Stronger, came together compared to her previous efforts, Kelly Clarkson gushes, Oh, it was so much easier!
She breathes this out as though something heavy is being released from her. She was in sync with executives at her record label, RCA, and her A&R guy. She connected with the co-writers shed been eyeing. And generally, she thinks there was another important factor at play: I think, because its my fifth album, people are getting more used to me, like writers know me better, producers know me better. I think it becomes a lot easier with each record.
But what about the fans? What do we know about Clarkson? Weve had since 2002 to get to acquainted with her, the year when a then-19-year-old from Texas became the first ever American Idol. Since then, there have been unusual footnotes (From Justin to Kelly), country crossovers and mega-hits.
Theres Since U Been Gone, a Grammy-winning kiss-off track. Or My Life Would Suck Without You, the 2009 single that broke records for jumping from No. 97 ! to No. 1 in one week. Or tell-off tracks sung with more range than your typical pop star, such as Walk Away and Mr. Know It All, the mid-tempo diss thats Strongers lead single and todays featured download.
Songs like these have also gained her a reputation as the go-to source for an uplifting breakup song, the queen of breakup anthems. But Clarkson insists shes not singing about jerks shes dated. Rather, shes singing about the jerks shes worked with.I think my music, theyre often anthems and theyre often feisty, so people would normally relate that to relationships, she says. Theyre about struggle, just with my life in the industry.
Clarkson co-writes many of her songs. Five of Strongers 11 tracks are credited to her. Or, even if I pick the song, if I didnt write it, like Since U Been Gone, I look at it differently. So shes not selecting material in the pursuit of preserving her reign as breakup queen. Mr. Know It All is an example. With a chorus like, You think that you know me/ thats why Im leaving you lonely, youd be forgiven for thinking an arrogant ex was involved. Mr. Know It All, its more about, like, a fight, and a struggle Ive had inside the industry, Clarkson says.
The singer is cagey when describing what sort of obstacles shes faced. There have been well-publicized instances of friction, including the lead-up to her 2007 album, My December. According to past reports, she had a showdown of sorts against her label, which didnt want to release the record as shed submitted it. (They found it too dark; she stood her ground.) In general terms, Clarkson says that being in control of her musical vision has been an ongoing battle.
Honestly, the hardest part in this business, for me, is just to be me. I dont really want to sing a song just because it sounds a lot like a song that did really well on the radio last week.
Were giving away music from Kelly Clarkson as part of the iTunes 12 Days of Christmas pr! omotion with the National Post. Visit nationalpost.com/12days on Dec. 28 to get it free on iTunes.