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Kelly Clarkson was the first American Idol winner and the first vocalist to achieve success, but her 2003 debut, Thankful, didn't completely define her outside of the parameters of the show. While the dance-pop and adult contemporary ballads on that record were fresher than the music on AmIdol, Clarkson still hadn't escaped the show's shadow entirely: since it was a hit so close to her time on TV, it was easy to pigeonhole her as simply a creation of television, not a popular singer in her own right. So, her second album, Breakaway, released late in 2004, was a pivotal moment for her, a chance to prove that she was not a one-hit wonder, a chance to prove that she could have a real, vibrant career. Happily, Breakaway delivers on that promise. This time around, the dance-pop elements have been almost entirely stripped away, and the record instead is a rock-influenced, MOR pop affair, not entirely dissimilar to Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography, only a little bit smoother and not as heavy on guitars. Since Clarkson is a better singer than Simpson -- not only does she possess more chops, but she has more on-record charisma -- she can sell the material even when the slow tempos in the middle of record drag its momentum; she prevents the songs from sounding too samey. While there may be one too many ballads here, they often are very good and sometimes are excellent, like the light, layered, yearning title tune. Clarkson may be a fine ballad singer, but what gives Breakaway its spine are the driving, anthemic pop tunes like "Since U Been Gone," "Walk Away," and "You Found Me." These are the numbers that sound simultaneously mainstream and youthful, which is a hard trick to pull off, and they are the tracks that illustrate that Kelly Clarkson is a rare thing in the 2000s: a pop singer who's neither hip nor square, just solidly and enjoyably in the mainstream. After a bunch of rather blah mainstream pop albums, including a glut of half-baked AmIdol projects, this is a nice, low-key relief.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Main Artist - M. Gerrard, Composer, Lyricist - B. Benenate, Composer, Lyricist - A. Lavigne, Composer, Lyricist - John Shanks, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Jeff Rothschild, Drums, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer
(P) 2004 Walt Disney Records
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Martin Sandberg, Composer, Lyricist - Lukasz "Doctor Luke" Gottwald, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist - Max Martin, Associated Performer, Producer, Recording Engineer - Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Producer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - Dr. Luke, Recording Engineer - Lasse Marten, Engineer, Recording Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - Johan "Brorsan" Brorsson, Engineer - Olle Dahlstedt, Drums
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist - Max Martin, Associated Performer, Producer, Recording Engineer - Martin Sandberg, Composer, Lyricist - Lukasz "Doctor Luke" Gottwald, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist - Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Producer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Dr. Luke, Recording Engineer - Lasse Marten, Engineer, Recording Engineer - Kevin M. Guarnieri, Recording Engineer - Jason Rankins, Assistant Engineer - Johan "Brorsan" Brorsson, Assistant Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - Johan Brorsson, Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - Shawn Pelton, Drums
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist - David Hodges, Arranger, Composer, Lyricist, Piano, Producer - Ben Moody, Composer, Guitar, Lyricist, Producer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Dan Certa, Recording Engineer - Sergio Chavez, Assistant Engineer - Marty O'Brien, Bass Guitar - Mark Colbert, Drums - David Campbell, Arranger - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Kara Dioguardi, Composer, Lyricist - John Shanks, Bass Guitar, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Lyricist, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Jeff Rothschild, Drums, Engineer, Mixing Engineer - Paul Bushnell, Bass Guitar - Mark Valentine, Engineer - Lars Fox, Engineer - Glenn Pittman, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recording Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist - David Hodges, Arranger, Composer, Lyricist, Piano, Producer, Programmer - Ben Moody, Composer, Guitar, Lyricist, Producer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Dan Certa, Recording Engineer - Sergio Chavez, Assistant Engineer - Marty O'Brien, Bass Guitar - Mark Colbert, Drums - David Campbell, Arranger - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist - Raine Maida, Arranger, Engineer, Guitar, Producer - Chantal Kreviazuk, Arranger, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Brian Garcia, Engineer - Cameron Webb, Engineer, Recording Engineer - Mark Kiczula, Assistant Engineer - Jon Berkowitz, Assistant Engineer - Randy Cook, Drums - Phil X, Guitar - Jason Lader, Bass Guitar, Programmer - Victor Lawrence, Strings - Mark Robertson, Strings - Kara Dioguardi, Composer, Lyricist - Shalini Vijayan, Strings - Shanti Randall, Strings - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist - Chantal Kreviazuk, Arranger, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Raine Maida, Arranger, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Lyricist, Producer - Kara Dioguardi, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Randy Cook, Drums - Phil X, Guitar - Brian Garcia, Engineer - Cameron Webb, Engineer, Recording Engineer - Jason Lader, Bass Guitar, Programmer - Mark Kiczula, Assistant Engineer - Victor Lawrence, Strings - Jon Berkowitz, Assistant Engineer - Mark Robertson, Strings - Shalini Vijayan, Strings - Shanti Randall, Strings - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Main Artist - John Shanks, Bass Guitar, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Lyricist, Mixing Engineer, Producer - Kara Dioguardi, Composer, Lyricist - Jeff Rothschild, Engineer - Mark Valentine, Engineer - Lars Fox, Engineer - Glenn Pittman, Assistant Engineer - KENNY ARONOFF, Drums - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recording Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Clif Magness, Bass Guitar, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Programmer - Mark Kiczula, Assistant Engineer - Cameron Webb, Editor - Josh Freese, Drums - Kara Dioguardi, Composer, Lyricist - Jimmy Harry, Composer, Lyricist - Shep Solomon, Composer, Lyricist - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Composer, Lyricist, Main Artist - Kara Dioguardi, Composer, Lyricist - Clif Magness, Bass Guitar, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Lyricist, Piano, Producer, Programmer - Mark Kiczula, Assistant Engineer - Cameron Webb, Editor - Josh Freese, Drums - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Tim Roberts, Assistant Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limtied
Kelly Clarkson, Associated Performer, Main Artist - Matthew Wilder, Composer, Lyricist - Rebekah Jordan, Composer, Lyricist - Toby Francis, Engineer - Brad Gilderman, Mixing Engineer - Aaron Lepley, Assistant Engineer - Renson Mateo, Assistant Engineer - Jason Halbert, Arranger, Piano
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Limited
Album review
Kelly Clarkson was the first American Idol winner and the first vocalist to achieve success, but her 2003 debut, Thankful, didn't completely define her outside of the parameters of the show. While the dance-pop and adult contemporary ballads on that record were fresher than the music on AmIdol, Clarkson still hadn't escaped the show's shadow entirely: since it was a hit so close to her time on TV, it was easy to pigeonhole her as simply a creation of television, not a popular singer in her own right. So, her second album, Breakaway, released late in 2004, was a pivotal moment for her, a chance to prove that she was not a one-hit wonder, a chance to prove that she could have a real, vibrant career. Happily, Breakaway delivers on that promise. This time around, the dance-pop elements have been almost entirely stripped away, and the record instead is a rock-influenced, MOR pop affair, not entirely dissimilar to Ashlee Simpson's Autobiography, only a little bit smoother and not as heavy on guitars. Since Clarkson is a better singer than Simpson -- not only does she possess more chops, but she has more on-record charisma -- she can sell the material even when the slow tempos in the middle of record drag its momentum; she prevents the songs from sounding too samey. While there may be one too many ballads here, they often are very good and sometimes are excellent, like the light, layered, yearning title tune. Clarkson may be a fine ballad singer, but what gives Breakaway its spine are the driving, anthemic pop tunes like "Since U Been Gone," "Walk Away," and "You Found Me." These are the numbers that sound simultaneously mainstream and youthful, which is a hard trick to pull off, and they are the tracks that illustrate that Kelly Clarkson is a rare thing in the 2000s: a pop singer who's neither hip nor square, just solidly and enjoyably in the mainstream. After a bunch of rather blah mainstream pop albums, including a glut of half-baked AmIdol projects, this is a nice, low-key relief.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:46
- Main artists: Kelly Clarkson
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: RCA Records Label
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
(P) 2004 19 Recordings Ltd. under exclusive license to RCA/JIVE Label Group, a unit of Sony Music Entertainment
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