Kelly Clarksons My December 10 year review
It’s been 10 years since the release of Kelly Clarkson’s My December, a personal favourite of mine and many other fans of her work. It followed the massive commercial success of her previous albums (Thankful and Breakaway) and represented a shift from pop rock to alternative rock.
My December is a sombre and often dark album that reflects the mood of Kelly at the time. Ten years on my thoughts are it’s her best work and this article reveals my top 5 songs from the album.
owever, it’s launch was mired by a bitter fued with her record label over the commercial quality of the album. Kelly stood her ground and eventually released the album telling the record label that “it’s my face, it’s my time”.
It never reached the commercial heights of Breakaway but for many fans (including myself) it’s their favourite. Here are some of my top tracks from the album.
Never Again
This song has an appealing vindictive tone - it really is about putting your trust in someone and getting let down (an experience most people can relate to).
Maybe
Perhaps my all time favourite Kelly Clarkson song. We can all relate to Maybe one day getting the thing we want.
Irvine
I wasn’t a fan of thing song originally but over time it has really grown on me. It was written as a prayer written at the lowest point of her life after cancelling a meet’n’greet while performing at the Irvine Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.
Clarkson told The Daily Mail (June 22, 2007): “I had reached my lowest point. I thought: ‘I don’t want to smile or talk about myself, or do a photo shoot. I don’t want to do anything.’ Four or five years straight of doing this stuff caught up on me. Everyone wanted to keep it going and I couldn’t. Even though I love my job, I couldn’t do it all the time.”
It’s never been sung live even though it is a favourite among fans.
Judas
An extremely catchy song that was initially favourite on the first listen of My December. It’s edginess makes it great to run to!
Sober
As someone that has struggled with one form of addiction over time (albeit minor things like food and gaming), this song is about survival and knowing what to do when something goes wrong.
Kelly states “The whole point of that song is, the temptation is there, but I’m not going to give in to it.”
Bonus Tracks on the Deluxe Version
Make sure you get the deluxe version of My December for the two bonus tracks:
- Dirty Little Secret - (Listen on YouTube)
- Not Today - (Listen on YouTube)