Kelly Clarkson is Stronger

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 and her Texas drawl, previously kept in check, rolls out with it. "We just really clicked, the whole team that went into this album," she says. She was in sync with executives at her record label, RCA, and her A&R guy. She connected with the co-writers she'd been eyeing, Greg Kurstin (Sia, Kylie Minogue) and Rodney Jerkins (Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige). And just generally, she thinks there was another important factor at play: "I think, because it's 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, or even the casual pop-watchers? What do we know about Kelly Clarkson? We've had since 2002 to get to acquainted with her, the year when a then-19-year-old from suburban Texas became the first ever American Idol. In the 10 years that have followed, there have been unusual footnotes (From Justin to Kelly, anyone?), and country crossovers (her hit duet with Jason Aldean, Don't You Wanna Stay, was just nominated for a Grammy). And from first album Thankful (2003) to this past October's Stronger, Clarkson's five-album discography has provided her with an enviable songbook of hits (one she is, incidentally, having a lot of fun choosing from as she prepares for her 2012 North American tour). There's Since U Been Gone, a scorching, Grammy-winning pop-rock kiss-off track written by Max Martin and Dr. Luke one that reminded listeners in 2004 how much fun their old Pat Benatar records used to be, and has since been named one of the best pop songs of the 2000s by everyone from Rolling Stone to Pitchfork. Or My Life Would Suck Without You, the 2009 hit that broke records for jumping from No. 97 to No. 1 in a single week. Or tell-off tracks sung with mo! re range and clarity than your typical pop star, such as Walk Away, Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) and Mr. Know It All, the mid-tempo diss that's Stronger's lead single and today's featured download.

Songs like these have also gained her a reputation as the go-to source for an uplifting breakup song. Entertainment Weekly described Stronger as a "breakup album for the ages." (The quote's even repeated in Clarkson's press materials.) She's been name-dropped as the "queen of breakup anthems" everywhere from MTV to, well, this publication, sure as there's catharsis to be had shrieking into a hairbrush.

If that's the way you see most of Kelly Clarkson's music, however, maybe it's time to stop acting like such a Mr. Know It All. She does not think of herself as the Breakup Idol. She's not singing about jerks she's dated (most of the time). Rather, she's singing about the jerks she's worked with.

"I think my music, they're often anthems and they're often feisty, so people would normally relate that to relationships," she says. "It's just funny to me, personally, because a lot of the songs, even on this record . . . like, those songs for me are about more than just a relationship with a guy. They're about struggle, just with my life in the industry."

Clarkson co-writes many of her songs. That entails crafting the lyrics and a melody, which she usually shares with her collaborators, along with a basic chord structure played on piano or guitar. Five of Stronger's 11 tracks are credited to her. "Or, even if I pick the song, if I didn't write it, like Since U Been Gone, I look at it differently." So she's not necessarily selecting material in the pursuit of preserving her perceived reign as breakup queen. Mr. Know It All is an example. With a chorus like, "You think that you know me/ that's why I'm leaving you lonely," you'd be forgiven for thinking an arrogant ex was involved. "Mr. Know It All, it's more about, like, a fight, and a struggle I've had inside the industry," Clarkson explains.

! The sing er is cagey when describing what sort of obstacles she's faced. There have been well-publicized instances of friction: The lead-up to her 2007 album, My December, has become a much-referenced footnote. According to past reports, she had a showdown of sorts against her label, which didn't want to release the record as she'd submitted it. (They found it too dark for a pop star on the rise; she stood her ground.) And 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 don't really want to sing a song just because it sounds a lot like a song that did really well on the radio last week."

She says she didn't have to fight the usual fights when making Stronger. ("People always send me Since U Been Gone/ My Life Would Suck Without You/ Because of You Part 2," she laughs.) This time, nobody was pushing her to stick to a formula. Still, she's a scrapper on disc. And when writing, she found herself venting over past industry scuffles.

You Love Me, one of Stronger's more enduring uptempo tracks, is a strong example. Clarkson seethes to a stilted rhythm one that backs up her pre-release hints that the album would owe some of its inspiration to Prince. "You just made me cry while claiming that you love me," she exhales on the chorus.

"I've been wanting to write that song for fricking 10 years," Clarkson says, explaining it's about a situation she's run up against over and over again. "It's (about) people saying, Oh, we love you, we love everything you're doing, BUT it would be great if you could sing Since U Been Gone 2 for us,' or, We love you, but you're not what we want from a pop artist,'" she says, then laughs. "I think you're highly confused on the definition of love."

The colleague she's singing about got a warning that a musical tell-off was coming, Clarkson says and workplace confessionalism hasn't caused any trouble with her co-workers. "I'm an artist, and pe! ople get that. You write about your life and your experiences," she says. Besides, she adds, "I never say names. I would never call someone out. We have our human moments where we're maybe not our best."

Fans have already thanked Clarkson for You Love Me, even though it hasn't been released as a single. (And you'll forgive them for not relating to it because they shared a similar workplace drama.) "I've already gone out and played it at shows, and people are like, Ohmigod, You Love Me reminds me of my boyfriend, he just didn't, la, la, la.'" Clarkson's reaction to that? "Oh," she says flatly. "I totally wrote it about somebody I worked with. It's not romantic at all. It's just funny, because people take it that way."

She gets it, though. "It's what you hear," she says. "If you want to hear (a song) as a guy breaking up with you or a guy breaking your heart, that's great. That's what you hear."

Long live the queen, then.

We're giving away music from Kelly Clarkson as part of our iTunes 12 Days of Christmas promotion. Click here on Dec. 28, 2011 to get it free on iTunes.

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