Kelly Clarkson Lyrics

Kelly Clarkson’s lyrics are every bit as engaging as the vocal range and music behind them. To date, Clarkson has delivered two albums, Thankful and Breakaway, which have each achieved popular success. Clarkson has also received two Grammy Awards because her work on Breakaway.

Most of the Kelly Clarkson lyrics from her two albums feature love lost, love found and the pain involved in loving adult relationships. “Miss Independent” from the Thankful album was co-written by Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Rhett Lawrence and Matt Morris. The release of this song sparked some controversy in that, apparently, Christina Aguilera, who had previously passed on the song, was miffed that Clarkson had recorded the rock hit without her buy-in.

“Miss Independent” is lyrically interesting because it connects the independence of the protagonist with a past hurt. This newfound independence was not the healthy kind as one might expect, but a reaction to the pain caused by a past lover.

“What’s Up Lonely” on the same album was never a hit single but is one of the most lyrically interesting offerings from this artist. The protagonist sings to parts of herself such as “lonely” and “heartache” and not to another person, though they way it is worded it seems as if she’s talking to someone else. And, as if she were talking to another person, she says it’s time for that relationship to go away.

Another of Kelly Clarkson’s lyrics that became is big hit was the song “Breakaway”, which was co-written by Avril Lavigne, Michael Gerrard and Bridget Benenate for an upcoming Avril Lavigne album. Lavigne passed on the song, Clarkson recorded it and though it started off slowly, it became one of Clarkson’s biggest hits. “Breakaway” breaks from Clarkson’s usual theme of love songs and engages the idea of real independence and risk-taking.

Another of Kelly Clarkson’s interesting lyrics are those in the song “Because of You”, also on the Breakaway album, which was co-written by Clarkson, David Hodges and Ben Moody. According to Clarkson, this is her most personal song since she wrote it when she was 16-years-old to deal with the emotional pain of lost love. Later, Clarkson would engage the other songwriters to help finish the song and it would go on to become a hit.

“Because of You” deals with the relationship of a child to an adult and the wounds felt because of that relationship. The protagonist discovers that deep-seated fear and a need for safety as the result of this relationship are getting the way of adult loving relationships.

From Thankful and Breakaway, Clarkson has moved musically from pop to rock. Lyrically, however, Kelly Clarkson remains on track with self-revealing love songs that show strength in vulnerability and healing.