Kelly Brianne, known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA Records. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the country's best-selling single of 2002. It was included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), which entered the Billboard 200 at number one, and also yielded the top-10 single "Miss Independent". Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson parted ways with Idol management and shifted genres to pop rock for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004), one of the best-selling albums by a female artist. Supported by four US top-ten singles–the title track, "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You" – Breakaway sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.
Breakaway is the second studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson, released on November 30, 2004, by RCA Records. The album is the follow-up to her successful debut album, Thankful (2003). Breakaway sees Clarkson collaborating with various producers and songwriters for the first time, primarily Dr. Luke, Max Martin, John Shanks, Kara DioGuardi, Ben Moody, and David Hodges; the latter two are former members of American rock band Evanescence. Despite the established commercial success of Thankful, music critics still continued to typecast Clarkson as an American Idol winner and were also critical of her attempts of establishing a commercial appeal on her own. Wanting to stray from those, she was convinced by Clive Davis to work with Dr. Luke and Martin in Stockholm, and with Moody and Hodges in Los Angeles, in pursuit of a pop rock direction. This also led her to part ways with her manager Simon Fuller and hire the management services of Jeff Kwatinetz before the album's release. Breakaway is primarily a pop rock record with elements of rock and soul music, marking a departure from the R&B-oriented sound of Thankful; its lyrics explore themes of heartbreak, love, and escapism.
"Since U Been Gone" is a song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). The song, which was written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, was released as the lead single from Breakaway two weeks before the album was released. It is an uptempo pop rock and power pop power ballad that infuses electronic sounds with a mixture of a soft and loud pop rock sound. Martin originally wrote "Since U Been Gone" with Pink in mind, but she turned it down. It was then given to Hilary Duff, but she rejected the song because she could not reach its higher notes. The song was finally given to Clarkson after Clive Davis convinced the writers to give it to her. Clarkson decided to add heavier guitars and harder drums to the song after noticing that the demo had an obvious pop sound. Lyrically, the song is written from a woman's point of view where she expresses her sense of relief with the end of her troubled relationship.
"Behind These Hazel Eyes" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). It was written by Clarkson with the song's producers Max Martin and Dr. Luke. The song was released on April 12, 2005, as the second single from the album. Clarkson considered "Behind These Hazel Eyes" as one of her favorite songs and she once intended to name Breakaway after the song. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" is an uptempo song that incorporates crunchy guitars which are pulsated with driving beats and anthemic choruses; it narrates Clarkson's broken relationship with her ex-boyfriend.
"Breakaway" is a power ballad song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song, written by Matthew Gerrard, Bridget Benenate, and Avril Lavigne, was originally intended for Lavigne's debut studio album, Let Go (2002). After being deemed unsuitable for the album, it was passed to Clarkson to be recorded as a soundtrack for the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). Clarkson, who was finishing her second studio album at that time, recorded "Breakaway" to tide her fans over until the first single from her new album was released. However, the song's success prompted its inclusion on Clarkson's second album, while the record label decided to name the album after the song. "Breakaway" was first released as the first single from The Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack on July 19, 2004. In May 2006, "Breakaway" was reissued as the fifth and final single from the album of the same name.
"The Trouble with Love Is" is a song by American singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson, for her debut studio album Thankful (2003). The song was written by Clarkson with its producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album, being first serviced to US contemporary hit radio on November 10, 2003. "The Trouble with Love Is" is an R&B and soul ballad, with elements of gospel music in its chorus. Lyrically, the song finds Clarkson explaining how love can be joyful and sorrowful at the same time. It received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who praised it for being "soulful" and "romantic", while also praising Clarkson's vocals, comparing them to those of Mariah Carey and Beyoncé.
"Because of You" is a song recorded by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). It was written by Clarkson along with its producers David Hodges and Ben Moody, both from Evanescence. It was released on August 16, 2005, by RCA Records, as the third single from Breakaway. Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old to cope with the emotional distress caused by her parents' divorce. She wanted the song to be included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), but her record label rejected the song. She then polished the song with Hodges and Moody before successfully convincing her label to include it on Breakaway.
"Sober" is a song recorded by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson taken from her third studio album, My December (2007). The song served as the album's second single on June 12, 2007, through 19 Recordings and RCA Records. Clarkson wrote it after her friend Calamity McEntire, who receives a songwriting credit, gave her the line "pick her weeds and keep the flowers", with additional writing by Aben Eubanks and Jimmy Messer, production by David Kahne, and co-production by Messer and Jason Halbert. "Sober" is an alternative rock song, with lyrics that use addiction as a metaphor for a relationship, evolving around the line "Three months and I'm still sober".
The Addicted Tour was the third headlining concert tour by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It was a United States tour beginning on June 30, 2006, in West Palm Beach, Florida and ended on August 6, in Auburn, Washington. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Breakaway (2004), following The Breakaway Tour (2005–06) and Hazel Eyes Tour (2005).
The My December Tour was the fourth headlining concert tour by American pop rock recording artist Kelly Clarkson, and followed the release Clarkson's third studio album, My December (2007). Originally a large-scale summer tour timed to coincide with the June 2007 availability of the album, public career battles and poor ticket sales in North America led Clarkson to cancel it before it began. A considerably smaller-scale tour commenced in September 2007 and ran to April 2008, with the international legs in Europe and Australia remaining at arena venues.
"One Minute" is a song recorded by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson taken from her third studio album, My December (2007). The song served as the album's second single in Australia on September 18, 2007, through 19 Recordings and RCA Records. Clarkson originally wrote it for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004), with songwriters Kara DioGuardi, Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida; however, it did not make the final track listing. It was then reworked for My December, being produced by David Kahne, and co-produced by Jason Halbert and Jimmy Messer. "One Minute" is an alternative rock song with electropop influences, and consists of "rapid-fire give-and-take verses".
The 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by American recording artists Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson that took place in two segments during 2008. The tour only visited North America. The tour's shows featured the two singers sharing the same band and stage and performing each other's songs.
The Breakaway Tour was the first headlining concert tour by American pop recording artist Kelly Clarkson. It began on March 30, 2005, in Tulsa, Oklahoma and finished on March 23, 2006, in Vienna, Austria. The tour promoted her second studio album, Breakaway (2004), and this was her first tour to visit Australia and Europe. This was the first of three tours to promote Breakaway. Clarkson went on to embark on the Hazel Eyes Tour in North America before and in between the Australian and European legs of this tour.
The All I Ever Wanted Tour was the fifth headlining concert tour by American pop rock recoding artist Kelly Clarkson in support of her fourth studio album, All I Ever Wanted (2009). It began on October 2, 2009, in Uncasville, Connecticut and finished on May 8, 2010, in Macau. The tour visited North America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and Asia.
Stronger is the fifth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 21, 2011, by RCA Records. The thirteen-song track-list features Clarkson collaborating with various new producers as well as with Howard Benson, whom she collaborated with on her previous album, All I Ever Wanted (2009). Wanting to stray away sonically from her previous albums, Clarkson's main objective was to record her vocal performances as it is heard in her live sets, and used as little auto-tune processing as possible. The album also marked the first release by Clarkson that did not cause a conflict with RCA; her previous records, most notably My December (2007), were released amidst conflict and controversy.
The Stronger Tour was the sixth headlining tour by American pop recording artist Kelly Clarkson. Beginning on January 13, 2012, the tour supported her fifth studio album, Stronger (2011). With over fifty dates, the tour traveled to the Americas, Australia and Europe. It ended on October 20, 2012, in London, England.
The Independent Tour was a co-headlining tour by American recording artists Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken. The tour supported their debut albums, Thankful (2003) and Measure of a Man (2003). The tour only reached the United States during the winter and spring of 2004. Clarkson and Aiken performed individual shows before joining in a duet for Clarkson's encore. Many critics described the tour as the PG version of The Justified & Stripped Tour in 2003. The tour placed 58th in Pollstar's annual "Top 100 Tours", earning over ten million dollars with 31 shows.
