Thankful (Kelly Clarkson album)

Thankful
Studio album by Kelly Clarkson
Released	April 15, 2003 (2003-04-15)
Recorded	2002–2003
Genre	Pop [1] R&B [2] [3]
Length	45:31
Label	RCA 19 S
Producer	Babyface Louis Biancaniello Desmond Child Cathy Dennis Steve Ferrera Rhett Lawrence Steve Mac Clif Magness Evan Rogers Carl Sturken The Underdogs Sam Watters Matthew Wilder
Kelly Clarkson chronology
Thankful (2003) Breakaway (2004)
Singles from Thankful
"Miss Independent" Released: April 10, 2003 "Low" Released: August 3, 2003 "The Trouble with Love Is" Released: November 10, 2003

Thankful is the debut studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released in the United States by RCA Records on April 15, 2003. "Miss Independent" was its first single, followed by "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is". Initially, the album had been scheduled to be released in November 2002, however, Clarkson's demanding schedule and difficulty finding tracks that suited her taste and image forced the album to be delayed several times. ^[4] By the time the album was released, over six months had elapsed since "A Moment Like This" had reached number one.

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 selling 297,000 copies. "Miss Independent" went on to be a top ten hit in the United States. Thankful has sold 2,800,000 copies in the United States, receiving a 2× platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). ^[5] In Canada, Thankful was certified platinum for 100,000 copies shipped by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). ^[6]

Background

Two songs originally on the album, "Trace of Gold" and "Today for Me", written by Stephanie Saraco, were replaced just before the album release by "Anytime" and "A Moment Like This". Early released versions of the CD still show the original tracks on players that read the data from the CD itself (such as Windows Media Player). The two songs have yet to be heard by the general public. Copies of Thankful sold during its first year of release contained a computer program that could be loaded, and used with the internet for artist updates and music videos. The program ceased to function when her official RCA website was launched. Thankful included four cover tracks, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" originally by Aretha Franklin, "Some Kind of Miracle" originally sung by Puff Johnson, "Anytime" by Mary Griffin and "Just Missed the Train" by Trine Rein. "Just Missed the Train" was previously covered by Danielle Brisebois and Carly Smithson (then Carly Hennessy), who worked on much of her album with Brisebois.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	62/100 [7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
E! Online	B [8]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [9]
The Guardian	[10]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Slant Magazine	[12]
USA Today	[13]

Critical response for Thankful was generally positive. ^{[14] [15]} On Metacritic, a website that compiles various reviews, the album received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews. ^[8] Entertainment Weekly noted that "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades". ^[9] Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, praising Clarkson's talent and vocal abilities, while criticizing the album for feeling manufactured. They note that "[her] high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her American Idol overlords". ^[11]

On the other hand, Q gave the album a very negative review, stating that the album "has her trilling like Mariah Carey on fluffy R&B tunes." ^[8]

Commercial performance

Release of the album was preceded by the single "Miss Independent", which became a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit and a number one top 40 smash. In thanks to the success of the single, as well as buzz from her American Idol win (Clarkson also appeared several times on the show's second season to promote Thankful), the album sold well in the United States. It managed to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with 297,000 copies sold. The album sold over 1 million copies in six weeks. ^[16] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Thankful has sold 2,800,000 copies to date in the US. ^[5] Further single releases "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is" did not replicate the success of the first single. "Just Missed the Train" and "You Thought Wrong" had been planned for possible single releases, but after the underperformance of "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is", they were canceled. ^[17]

Track listing

Thankful– Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Trouble with Love Is"	Kelly Clarkson Evan Rogers Carl Sturken	Rogers Sturken	3:41
2.	"Miss Independent"	Clarkson Christina Aguilera Rhett Lawrence Matt Morris	Lawrence	3:34
3.	"Low"	Jimmy Harry	Clif Magness	3:28
4.	"Some Kind of Miracle"	Diane Warren	Steve Ferrera Lawrence	3:38
5.	"What's Up Lonely"	Rogers Sturken Stephanie Saraco	Rogers Sturken	4:08
6.	"Just Missed the Train"	Danielle Brisebois Scott Cutler	Magness	4:10
7.	"Beautiful Disaster"	Rebekah Jordan Matthew Wilder	Wilder	4:10
8.	"You Thought Wrong" (featuring Tamyra Gray)	Clarkson Gray Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Harvey Mason, Jr. Damon Thomas	The Underdogs Babyface	3:50
9.	"Thankful"	Clarkson Edmonds Mason Thomas	The Underdogs Babyface	3:00
10.	"Anytime"	Louis Biancaniello Sam Watters	Biancaniello Watters	4:05
11.	"A Moment Like This" (new mix – bonus track)	Jörgen Elofsson John Reid	Ferrera Steve Mac	3:48
12.	"Before Your Love" (new mix – bonus track)	Desmond Child Cathy Dennis Gary Burr	Child Dennis	3:59

Thankful– Japanese edition (bonus track)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	Carole King Gerry Goffin Jerry Wexler	2:36

Personnel

Musicians Kelly Clarkson – lead vocals, backing vocals (2, 4, 5, 11) Carl Sturken – keyboards (1, 5), drum programming (1, 5), guitars (5) Rhett Lawrence – programming (2, 4), guitars (2), scratching (2), arrangements (2, 4) Clif Magness – keyboards (3, 6), acoustic piano (3, 6), programming (3, 6), acoustic guitar (3, 6), electric guitars (3, 6), bass (3, 6), arrangements (3, 6) Kenneth Crouch – organ (4) Matthew Wilder – acoustic piano (7), programming (7), guitars (7) Babyface – instruments (8, 9) Harvey Mason Jr. – instruments (8, 9) Louis Biancaniello – keyboards (10), programming (10), arrangements (10) Steve Mac – keyboards (11) Jeremy Ruzumna – organ (11) Doug Emery – keyboards (12), programming (12), arrangements (12) Jim Gasior – acoustic piano (12) Olle Romo – guitars (2) Tim Pierce – guitars (4) James Harrah – guitars (7) Corky James – guitars (8) Chris Camozzi – guitars (10) Pathik Desai – guitars (11) Paul Gendler – guitars (11) Fridrik Karlsson – guitars (11) Dan Warner – guitars (12) Tommy Sims – bass (4) Mike Elizondo – bass (7) Reggie Hamilton – bass (8, 9) Steve Pearce – bass (11) Randy Jackson – bass (12) Steve Ferrera – drums (1, 2, 4, 11), percussion (11) Josh Freese – drums (3) Abe Laboriel Jr. – drums (7) Teddy Campbell – drums (8) Lee Levin – drums (12) Wayne Rodrigues – scratching (2) Dave Arch – string arrangements (11) Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (1) Evan Rogers – backing vocals (1) Suzie Benson – backing vocals (2) Danielle Brisebois – backing vocals (3, 6) Sherree Ford – backing vocals (4) Sharlotte Gibson – backing vocals (4) Lorenza Stopponi – backing vocals (5) Rebekah Jordan – backing vocals (7) Tamyra Gray – harmony vocals (8) Mary Griffin – backing vocals (10) Conesha Owens – backing vocals (10) Sam Watters – backing vocals (10), arrangements (10) Debra Byrd – backing vocals (11) Leslie Smith – backing vocals (11) Gina Taylor – backing vocals (11) Chris Willis – backing vocals (12), BGV arrangements (12) Aisha Wright – backing vocals (12) Betty Wright – backing vocals (12) Jeanette Wright – backing vocals (12) Strings (Tracks 1 & 5) Larry Gold – arrangements and conductor James Cooper III – cello (1, 5) Jennie Lorenzo – cello (1) Alexandra Leem – viola (1) Peter Nocella – viola (1) Daniela Pierson – viola (5) David Yang – viola (5) Charlene Kwas – violin (1) Emma Kummrow – violin (1, 5) Charles Parker Jr. – violin (1) Igor Szwec – violin (1, 5) Gregory Teperman – violin (1) Ghislaine Fleischmann – violin (5) Gloria Justen – violin (5) Strings and French horn on "Before Your Love" David Campbell – arrangements and conductor Suzie Katayama – orchestra manager Bette Ross-Blumer – musical assistance Joel Derouin – concertmaster Richard Todd – French horn Larry Corbett and Dan Smith – cello Bob Becker and Darrin McCann – viola Charlie Bisharat, Bruce Dukov, Berj Garabedian, Peter Kent, Michele Richards, John Wittenberg and Ken Yerke – violin

Production Clive Davis – executive producer Andrea Derby – production coordinator (1, 5) Jolie Levine-Aller – production coordinator (8, 9) Brian Coleman – production manager (12) Frank Harkins – art direction Brett Kilroe – art direction Tony Duran – photography Technical J.D. Andrew – engineer (1) Rich Balmer – engineer (1) Al Hemberger – engineer (1, 5) Rhett Lawrence – Pro Tools engineer (2, 4), mixing (2) Steve McMillan – Pro Tools engineer (2, 4), mixing (2) Olle Romo – Pro Tools engineer (2, 4) Jim Watts – Pro Tools engineer (2, 4) Andy Zulla – Pro Tools engineer (2, 4), engineer (11), mixing (11), additional recording (12) Clif Magness – engineer (3, 6) Csaba Petocz – engineer (7) Paul Boutin – recording (8, 9) Dave Russell – recording (8, 9), mixing (8, 9) Louis Biancaniello – engineer (10), mixing (10) Sean Tallman – engineer (10) Sam Watters – engineer (10) Matt Howe – engineer (11) Chris Laws – engineer (11) Robin Sellars – engineer (11) Carlos Alvarez – recording (12), mixing (12) Steve Churchyard – recording (12) Jules Gondar – recording (12) Craig Lozowick – recording (12) Dan Bucchi – assistant engineer (1) John Ishizeki – assistant engineer (1) Kevin Harp – assistant engineer (3, 6) Cesar Ramirez – assistant engineer (3, 6) Quentin Dunn – second engineer (7) Kevin Mahoney – assistant engineer (8, 9) Joel Sheppard – assistant engineer (8, 9) Daniel Pursey – assistant engineer (11) Cosbie Cates – second engineer (12) Jimmy Hoyson – second engineer (12) Jeff Kanan – second engineer (12) Greg London – second engineer (12) Marcelo Marulanda – second engineer (12) Doug Emery – additional recording (12) Conrad Golding – additional recording (12), second engineer (12) Dino Hermann – additional recording (12) Lee Levin – additional recording (12) Jeff Chestek – string engineer (1, 5) Gordon Goss – assistant string engineer (1) Vincent Dilorenzo – assistant string engineer (5) Tony Maserati – mixing (1, 4, 5) Dave Pensado – mixing (2) Bob Clearmountain – mixing (3, 6) Mike Shipley – mixing (7) Steve Ferrera – mixing (11) Brendan Kuntz – mix assistant (1) Matt Snedecor – mix assistant (1, 5) Jim Briggs – mix assistant (5) Pat Woodward – mix assistant (5) Dabling Harward – vocal editing (8, 9) Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Thankful Chart (2003–2006) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 33 Canadian Albums (Billboard) [19] 5 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts) [20] 83 Irish Albums (IRMA) [21] 46 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [22] 19 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [23] 12 Scottish Albums (OCC) [24] 44 UK Albums (OCC) [24] 41 US Billboard 200 [25] 1

Year-end charts 2003 year-end chart performance for Thankful Chart (2003) Position US Billboard 200 [26] 31 Worldwide Albums (IFPI) [27] 41

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Thankful

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [28]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [29]	Platinum	100,000^
Japan (RIAJ) [30]	Gold	100,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway) [31]	Gold	20,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [32]	Gold	100,000^
United States (RIAA) [33]	2× Platinum	2,800,000 [5]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for Thankful

Region	Date	Label	Format
Canada [34]	April 15, 2003	Sony BMG	CD
United States		RCA 19
Europe	July 7, 2003	Sony BMG
Japan [35]	July 23, 2003
Australia	September 15, 2003
Brazil	December 18, 2006

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Thankful - Kelly Clarkson". AllMusic .
2. O'Brien, Jon (November 26, 2024). "How Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway' Proved Her As America's "Idol"". Grammy.com . Retrieved February 21, 2025.
3. Wood, Michael (January 25, 2005). "Identity Crisis". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
4. "For The Record: Quick News On Kelly Clarkson And Justin Guarini, Eve, D12, Ben Lee, Sheryl Crow & More". December 13, 2002. Archived from the original on August 26, 2003. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
5. "Ask Billboard: Kelly Clarkson's Career Sales & 'Wild Thoughts' About Rihanna". Billboard .
6. Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum - January 2004 Archived 2010-03-25 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Reviews for Thankful by Kelly Clarkson - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
8. "Critic Rviews for Thankful". Metacritic . Retrieved 2008-02-24.
9. Goldblatt, Henry (April 25, 2003). "Thankful Review". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
10. Sullivan, Caroline (August 28, 2003). "Kelly Clarkson: Thankful". The Guardian . Retrieved 2012-11-18.
11. Berger, Arion (April 22, 2003). "Thankful". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2012-11-18.
12. Cinquemani, Sal (April 17, 2003). "Kelly Clarkson: Thankful". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 2012-11-18.
13. Gardner, Elysa (April 14, 2003). "Clarkson's 'Thankful' much obliged to many". USA Today .
14. Dresdale, Andrea (April 14, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson releases two songs from her next chapter a day before 20th anniversary of her debut". ABC Audio Digital Syndication . Retrieved February 25, 2025. It received positive reviews
15. "Kelly Clarkson releases two songs from her next chapter a day before 20th anniversary of her debut". WRMF . 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2025. It received positive reviews and proved Kelly had actual talent beyond the scope of American Idol.
16. Gundersen, Edna (2007-08-10). "Clarkson slipping into a sales slump". USA Today . Retrieved 2008-02-24.
17. "Kelly Clarkson Hits The Roof For New Clip, Plans DVD". MTV. 2003-11-06. Archived from the original on September 19, 2004. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
18. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
19. "Thankful - Kelly Clarkson - Canadian Albums chart". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 2012-03-10.
20. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
21. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL (ALBUM) - irish-charts.com". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
22. "サンクフル" (in Japanese). ORICON. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
23. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
24. "Archive Chart- Kelly Clarkson - Thankful". The Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2012-03-10.
25. "Thankful - Kelly Clarkson - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
26. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
27. "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2003" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 17, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
29. "Canadian album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful". Music Canada.
30. "Japanese album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.Select 2008年5月 on the drop-down menu
31. "Norwegian album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
32. "British album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful". British Phonographic Industry.
33. "American album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful". Recording Industry Association of America.
34. "Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. April 15, 2003. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
35. "Kelly Clarkson - Thankful (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. July 23, 2003. Retrieved September 3, 2016.