Kelly Clarkson
"Nothing's real/Until you let go completely/So here I go/With all my thoughts/I've been saving." - Sober After the tremendous success of 2004's Breakaway, which sold 6 million in the U.S. and 11 million worldwide on the strength of such #1 hits as "Since U Been Gone," the title track, "Behind These Hazel Eyes," "Because of You" and "Walk Away," Kelly Clarkson earned the right to make the kind of album she wanted to make for her third RCA Records effort, My December. My December unfolds like a diary of the last two years in the life of Kelly Clarkson, which saw her take home a pair of 2006 Grammy Awards at L.A.'s Staples Center and perform a show-stopping version of "Because of You"; nab four American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, a People's Choice Award and a staggering 11 Billboard Music Awards. But all that acclaim took its toll on her personal relationships, captured on the dance-floor funk-soul of "One Minute," which she describes as "about the craziness of everything," the Edge-styled guitars in the blues-rocking "Hole," the betrayal of "Judas" and the playful No Doubt-inspired rhythmic pulse of "How I Feel." Songs like "Sober," "Be Still," "Maybe" and "Irvine" are vocal showcases that reflect her singer-songwriter roots. "The record is about me, why I make the decisions I do," she says. "Most of my songs are about what's happening in my life. For me, it's like free therapy. Whether it's me growing, or helping someone else get through similar circumstances." Clarkson wrote almost 60 songs for the new record, eventually paring it down to 26, then 14. "Each song was picked carefully," she says. "I learned we should do what makes us happy and tell our stories without worrying about being #1 all the time and selling millions of albums. I just want to be me, but it's really hard to do that when everybody's breathing down your neck trying to make you somebody else." Clarkson describes My December as an album that completes one era and opens up another, starting with the emotionally charged "Never Again," in which she writes about a relationship gone sour, but it's not what you think. "It's not really a boyfriend-girlfriend thing," explains Kelly. "It's more about trusting and putting your faith in someone and getting let down." "At the end of the day, life is too short," says Kelly. "You can't take things too seriously. I wanted to end the album on a light note. There are obviously moments you think you'll never get over, but you do. We need that kind of sarcasm." My December marks a major turning point for Kelly Clarkson, a third album that defies expectations and introduces an artist coming into her own and growing into her powerfully, distinctive vocals. "It's the end of something and the beginning of a new era, a fresh start," she says. "My December album is like a movie about me, it's my story.
