Kelly Clarkson - "Stronger" - Oct. 24

[clarksodi]

Wait. I'm getting confused. Are the leaks part of Kelly's new album? If so, I'm excited! We are going to get a 50 track album?!?! Yay!

[jessayli]

Also, "What Doesn't Kill You" would smash as a first single from Kelly.

[Love Plastic Love]

These songs do NOT sound finished, mastered, or finalized to me at all. I will think they are absolutely crazy if these are like...the actual songs on the cd and not just demos.

[Deleted]

There's no reason to push back the album any more at this point. If they can't keep a lock on 50+ songs now why would we expect them to be able to be able to hold on to anything else she records until the spring? And besides, I don't think all of these songs sound fully mastered...

Finished, mixed, and in relative HQ: Dark Side, D+D, BYOH
Finished recording, LQ or waiting on final mix - LMD
Either finished recording and waiting on final mix or almost finished - IWICBLI
Almost finished but needs tweaking - TMAL, WDKY
Past initial demo stages, but not quite finished - IFY
Still in the demo stage - DBAGAI

I find it wholly unsurprising that my most favorite are the ones that actually sound done, while the ones I like the least are the ones that sound like they aren't done working on them. If the rumor that RCA is going to scrap some of the leaks for older stuff is true, I hope that they're doing this solely based on majority reaction (for example, ditching D+D and/or DBAGAI because they've gotten such a poor response from fans) and not just because the songs leaked and they figure they're all damaged goods. I like D+D but I'll live without it, and I acknowledge that DBAGAI isn't even close to finished, but I don't care enough about it getting a chance; however, I'll be extremely disappointed if LMD and DS (which got the strongest responses) are scrapped.

I have an idea of where they plan on taking WDKY and it gives me MLWSWY vibes. I.e., it will probably do really well out of the gate, but will also be safe as hell. *shrug* I just am not into it personally, but I get its appeal. And who knows, maybe I'm wrong and they'll take it somewhere unexpected.

There is a certain instrumental element in the beginning of IWICBLI that reminds me of a similar sound in Be Still. Does anyone know what I am talking about?

[Illusions]

Yes! I said the same thing about IWICBLI and Be Still.

[Peaches. [Ch, r. is]]

Jul 16, 2011 23:12:06 GMT -5 @cynthiarose said:

I have an idea of where they plan on taking WDKY and it gives me MLWSWY vibes. I.e., it will probably do really well out of the gate, but will also be safe as hell. *shrug* I just am not into it personally, but I get its appeal. And who knows, maybe I'm wrong and they'll take it somewhere unexpected.

I think is just needs a few tweaks. A stronger bridge, and make her vocals soar over the music more when she's belting out, to show case her vibrato even more.

I would say to increase the tempo more and add heavier bass, but they can do that when the remix it for the clubs I love this direction, and as much as I love Kelly doing pop/rock, I think I wouldn't mind LMD, IFY & TMAL being left off the album. But Dark Side & WDKY must make the album imo.

I didn't notice the Be Still/IWICBL similarity, but I did notice the same instrumental thing between YBYOH & Cry.

Don't Be A Girl About It.... just no. I don't even know what she was thinking. Dumb +Dumb = U >>>>>>>>>>>> DBAGAI, by so much. D+D just needs a title change and it wouldn't be that bad.

[bigb0882]

I am not sure I understand how changing the title to a song can make you like it any more or less. It is still the same song.

[dbhmr]

Jul 16, 2011 23:41:33 GMT -5 bigb0882 said:

I am not sure I understand how changing the title to a song can make you like it any more or less. It is still the same song.

Because it's such a stupid title. It's a turn off before anyone hears the song. I think "Einstein" would be better.

And I love DBAGAI. I think it's catchy as hell, fun, silly, and could come with a great video. I hope it stays on the album.

[bigb0882]

I agree, the title is horrendous, but it still wouldn't make me like the song any more if they changed it. Maybe because I don't like it anyway? lol

[Peaches. [Ch, r. is]]

Jul 16, 2011 23:41:33 GMT -5 bigb0882 said:

I am not sure I understand how changing the title to a song can make you like it any more or less. It is still the same song.

It wouldn't. But that's not what I said.

I think people only hate the song because of how juvenile the title is. Her vocals are great, the production is great & the lyrics aren't as bad as everyone makes them seem. The only real terrible part about the song is the title.

[dbhmr]

Jul 16, 2011 23:47:17 GMT -5 Peaches. [Ch, r. is] said:

Jul 16, 2011 23:41:33 GMT -5 bigb0882 said:

I am not sure I understand how changing the title to a song can make you like it any more or less. It is still the same song.

It wouldn't. But that's not what I said.

I think people only hate the song because of how juvenile the title is. Her vocals are great, the production is great & the lyrics aren't as bad as everyone makes them seem. The only real terrible part about the song is the title.

+ the first verse. Wtf. It sounds like an SNL song. Love the sound and her voice though, and it's totally grown on me. But I do think it will be ripped apart in reviews.

[Peaches. [Ch, r. is]]

Jul 16, 2011 23:51:21 GMT -5 dbhmr said:

+ the first verse.

wrong.



stressed + depressed = U

[bigb0882]

I think the lyrics are about the worst Kelly has ever put vocals to, but that is just my opinion.

[nightshade]

Jul 16, 2011 23:57:34 GMT -5 bigb0882 said:

I think the lyrics are about the worst Kelly has ever put vocals to, but that is just my opinion.

Shit & Fame is awful as well.


Seriously, I think Dumb + Dumb is a dummy song...like Kelly sang it just to get the melody/vocals laid out and then change everything kind of like what happened with MLWSWY.

D+D is AWFUL. DBAGAI is really good though.

[neally]

Jul 16, 2011 23:28:05 GMT -5 Peaches. [Ch, r. is] said:

Jul 16, 2011 23:12:06 GMT -5 @cynthiarose said:

I have an idea of where they plan on taking WDKY and it gives me MLWSWY vibes. I.e., it will probably do really well out of the gate, but will also be safe as hell. *shrug* I just am not into it personally, but I get its appeal. And who knows, maybe I'm wrong and they'll take it somewhere unexpected.

I think is just needs a few tweaks. A stronger bridge, and make her vocals soar over the music more when she's belting out, to show case her vibrato even more.

I would say to increase the tempo more and add heavier bass, but they can do that when the remix it for the clubs I love this direction, and as much as I love Kelly doing pop/rock, I think I wouldn't mind LMD, IFY & TMAL being left off the album. But Dark Side & WDKY must make the album imo.

I didn't notice the Be Still/IWICBL similarity, but I did notice the same instrumental thing between YBYOH & Cry.

Don't Be A Girl About It.... just no. I don't even know what she was thinking. Dumb +Dumb = U >>>>>>>>>>>> DBAGAI, by so much. D+D just needs a title change and it wouldn't be that bad.

I agree with you (mostly). I am absolutely digging 'Kill' and 'Dark Side', as well as 'Heart'- the vocals on the last two are just out of this world good- unprocessed and as true to Kelly is live, with one the strongest head voices and chest voices radio will probably ever hear. 'Heart' would probably fare very well on country radio since that format has not heard a vocal tone so soulful and story-telling since Trisha Yearwood, IMO.

I think it would be a crime to music if 'Kill' did not get released as a single at some point. The song has such a positive message, bombastic, uber-confident vocal, and crazy vibratto. It has replaced 'Edge of Glory' as my favourite new evening run jam this summer.

ETA: After listening to all the leaks, I believe RCA could make a KILLER CD with just the best of the leaks, which, IMO, would be far, far superior to 'Wanted'. Oh, I actually really like the newer version 'Girl' ......

[musicfan4ever]

I think we dun have to worry about the leaks harming her sales. These leaks have been really good publicity because the songs leaked are all GREAT. It would be a different story tho if they were subpar.

Anyway I am getting addicted to Dark Side, even tho my friend keeps cracking me up by replacing the words with Back Side. Which totally suits Kelly too tbh haha

[jessayli]

Jul 17, 2011 0:32:04 GMT -5 neally said:

Jul 16, 2011 23:28:05 GMT -5 Peaches. [Ch, r. is] said:

I think is just needs a few tweaks. A stronger bridge, and make her vocals soar over the music more when she's belting out, to show case her vibrato even more.

I would say to increase the tempo more and add heavier bass, but they can do that when the remix it for the clubs I love this direction, and as much as I love Kelly doing pop/rock, I think I wouldn't mind LMD, IFY & TMAL being left off the album. But Dark Side & WDKY must make the album imo.

I didn't notice the Be Still/IWICBL similarity, but I did notice the same instrumental thing between YBYOH & Cry.

Don't Be A Girl About It.... just no. I don't even know what she was thinking. Dumb +Dumb = U >>>>>>>>>>>> DBAGAI, by so much. D+D just needs a title change and it wouldn't be that bad.

I agree with you (mostly). I am absolutely digging 'Kill' and 'Dark Side', as well as 'Heart'- the vocals on the last two are just out of this world good- unprocessed and as true to Kelly is live, with one the strongest head voices and chest voices radio will probably ever hear. 'Heart' would probably fare very well on country radio since that format has not heard a vocal tone so soulful and story-telling since Trisha Yearwood, IMO.

I think it would be a crime to music if 'Kill' did not get released as a single at some point. The song has such a positive message, bombastic, uber-confident vocal, and crazy vibratto. It has replaced 'Edge of Glory' as my favourite new evening run jam this summer.

ETA: After listening to all the leaks, I believe RCA could make a KILLER CD with just the best of the leaks, which, IMO, would be far, far superior to 'Wanted'. Oh, I actually really like the newer version 'Girl' ......

Neally, I totally thought of you when listening to Dark Side and You're Breaking Your Own Heart, precisely because Kelly's voice sounds so incredible (and I was eagerly awaiting your response, which I completely agree with). I knew you would have great things to say about those two songs (Kelly makes me want to cry every time I hear her sing the line "life is so hard" in YBYOH).

Has YBYOH really grown on anyone else here? I think it has actually become my favorite of all the leaks we've heard so far and may be the one song I most want to see on the album.

[clarksonnumber1]

If I was RCA the lead single would be the song I would make sure others weren't hearing. I'd like to think the song Bonnie did has that kind of potential, which is why they're being so quiet about it. We still haven't heard The War Is Over and I still feel You Can't Win has potential to be a smash hit as the second single. I don't see too many reasons to be worried at this point.

[franklin]

I still love D+D, I would like it to make the album, but it would need to remain an album track. It is really too catchy to leave off. Actually, it would be a nice bonus track. I agree with dbhmr in that critics would rip it shreds if it were a single. They would be less inclined to do so if it was only a bonus track.

[Nick]

Jul 16, 2011 21:33:32 GMT -5 clarksodi said:

Wait. I'm getting confused. Are the leaks part of Kelly's new album? If so, I'm excited! We are going to get a 50 track album?!?! Yay!

lol. That's what I'm wondering. How many will make her album.
It would suck if the songs you like never make it to any version of the new album. Well, if she releases a deluxe anyway.

[neally]

I came across this video on youtube: I didn't realize just how HUGE of a fan of Kelly that Demi Lovato is :o :

[SoMuchToSay]

^^^ AWWWW! I love Demi!
I'm gonna be pissed if BYOH doesn't make the cut. That song is so freakin' good! They all are good, so I'm interested to see which ones indeed make the album, and which don't. I'd almost say for sure BYOH, IFY, LMD, WDKY will for sure be on there. But then there's ones like DBAGAI, and D+D, and maybe even Dark Side could be at risk. I guess time will tell!

[neally]

Jul 17, 2011 6:51:11 GMT -5 jessayli said:

Neally, I totally thought of you when listening to Dark Side and You're Breaking Your Own Heart, precisely because Kelly's voice sounds so incredible (and I was eagerly awaiting your response, which I completely agree with). I knew you would have great things to say about those two songs (Kelly makes me want to cry every time I hear her sing the line "life is so hard" in YBYOH).

Has YBYOH really grown on anyone else here? I think it has actually become my favorite of all the leaks we've heard so far and may be the one song I most want to see on the album.

100% agree- I also think this has become my favourite ballad of all the leaks. I would be so excited if this song were released to country or AC, because it is rather different from most other songs on those formats with such a raw vocal.

On 'Heart', she recruits her head voice so beautifully on the verses, such as "it's sooooo wrong", "you're alreadyyyyy gone", and "if only you let go of your fears" **chills**, then uses her chest voice, which is only in a middle register, to sound almost as if she is crying when singing in the chorus, such as "taking it too far, down a lonely road". I really hear and feel the regret and sadness in her voice during the choruses. It is this story-telling prowess, which can not be effectively taught, that also sets Kelly apart from most of her contemporaries. Honestly, this is probably the most honest vocal recording from Kelly that I have heard from her since 'My December'....

[ƒreakshow]

Jul 17, 2011 13:27:41 GMT -5 neally said:

On 'Heart', she recruits her head voice so beautifully on the verses, such as "it's sooooo wrong", "you're alreadyyyyy gone", and "if only you let go of your fears" **chills**, then uses her chest voice, which is only in a middle register, to sound almost as if she is crying when singing in the chorus, such as "taking it too far, down a lonely road". I really hear and feel the regret and sadness in her voice during the choruses. It is this story-telling prowess, which can not be effectively taught, that also sets Kelly apart from most of her contemporaries. Honestly, this is probably the most honest vocal recording from Kelly that I have heard from her since 'My December'....

I always enjoy reading your analyses, neally. I love the way she sounds during the last chorus, almost like it's more powerful and emotional or something. I don't know if it's the way her vocals are produced there or if Kelly purposely changed the way she sung it, but it's my favorite part of the song. I like the way the lyrics change to "taking your own heart down a lonely road" as opposed to "taking it too far" like it is for the rest of the song. Little changes like that make a big difference to me.

Chris is going to hate me for this , but I put together this list of all the songs (with their writers) that could possibly end up on the album. As you'll notice, there's plenty of other songs that Kelly could use if she wanted to replace some of the leaked songs. Obviously, we don't know how any of these songs turned out or if they're any good, but there are plenty of songs here. I bet there are also quite a few songs we don't know about, so the situation isn't quite as grim as it may seem.

These songs have either been recently registered on a copyright site, mentioned in an article or website by a credible source, or mentioned by Kelly herself on Twitter. This list does not include the rest of the pre-show songs or last year's demos, since we have no idea if Kelly plans to use any of them.

• 3 Words (Kelly Clarkson, Jerry McPherson, Miles McPherson)
  
• Another Greeting Card For The Masses (Kelly Clarkson, Mike Caren, Oliver Goldstein)
  
• Break The Silence (Kelly Clarkson, Ric Robbins)
  
• Breathing (Kelly Clarkson, Nick Huntington, Michael McGroarty)
  
• Dark Side
  
• Dumb + Dumb = You (James Fauntleroy, Toby Gad, Bridget Kelly)
  
• Don't Be A Girl About It (Kelly Clarkson, Brent Kutzle)
  
• Good Enough (Kelly Clarkson, Jason Halbert)
  
• Habits and Heroes (Kelly Clarkson, Jeff King, Miles McPherson)
  
• Holding Out For You (Kelly Clarkson, Tom Meredith, Shep Solomon)
  
• I Forgive You (Lauren Christy, Rodney Jerkins, Andre Lindal)
  
• I Wish I Could Be Lonely Instead (Kelly Clarkson, Dwight Baker, Jason Halbert)
  
• Let Me Down
  
• One More Yesterday [featuring Chris Daughtry] (Chris Daughtry, Richard Marx, Jason Wade) **
  
• Red Hands (Kelly Clarkson, Jason Halbert, Miles McPherson)
  
• Tell Me A Lie (Kelly Clarkson, Tom Meredith, Shep Solomon)
  
• The Sun Will Rise (Kyle Jacobs, Danelle Leverett)
  
• The War Is Over (Livvi Franc, Toby Gad)
  
• What Doesn't Kill You (Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Ali Tamposi)
  
• Why Don't You Try (Eric Hutchinson)
  
• You Don't Know What Lonely's Like (Kelly Clarkson, Ric Robbins) *
  
• You Love Me
  
• You Still Won’t Know What It's Like (Kelly Clarkson, Jason Halbert) *
  
• You're Breaking Your Own Heart (Kathleen Hanson, Michael Longenecker)
  
• You're The Only One For Me (Kelly Clarkson, Josh Abraham, Oliver Goldstein, Bonnie McKee)

* Could be the same song
** Disputed; may not have actually been recorded

The co-writers of the song Breathing also wrote and produced Heaven On Earth for Britney's Blackout album, I thought that was interesting.

[dbhmr]

She has a lot of cowrites on that list...15/25, plus three songs we don't know the writers for. Makes me feel better that she won't be totally shut out of the writing process for the final album. I need to see YCW and DEGUOM registered though. >:(

[Love Plastic Love]

I finally sat down and truly listened to all of the leaks closely and damn, I love her. The best of these leaks really COULD make a great cd even though some of them are obviously unfinished. Even the ones that seem a little basic or have dumb lyrics are elevated by her vocals (which are just amazing here-I hope they do NOT over-process her voice on the final version) or just how damned catchy the song is.
I also like that all of these sound like KELLY and what Kelly does well instead of sounding like generic electro songs about ~*~having funz!!!!~*~ I am also dying at Wash, Rinse, Repeat. Like, god, that is why I am a Kelly stan. Right there. I appreciate every pop star right now who keeps a piece of themselves in their music even when that isn't necessarily appreciated by pop radio. It is VERY difficult to do when there is so much pressure to conform, release generic songs, please the radio gods who are ever limiting what they will allow to be played on radio.

I hope the final product remains true to herself as much as possible as well even though I am sure the label will put their grubby fingers in it by the end.

[Hook]

DYWS is now a Top 10 Hot AC hit.
11 10 JASON ALDEAN/KELLY CLARKSON Don't You Wanna Stay 2719 2632 87 14.68

[Deleted]

Go DYWS! Love that song.

[TellMeALie]

Jul 17, 2011 17:34:55 GMT -5 Hook said:

DYWS is now a Top 10 Hot AC hit.
11 10 JASON ALDEAN/KELLY CLARKSON Don't You Wanna Stay 2719 2632 87 14.68

wasnt it 10 couple weeks ago then went to 11? awesome though that it is still gaining!

EDIT: Nevermind, that was just regular AC I was thinking about.
Well, YAY this is her 8th HAC top 10 hit then right??

[dbhmr]

Kelly is in the center if EW's Bullseye this week for LMD. It says, "Leak of the Kelly Clarkson track Let Me Down does anything but. It's amazing."

I was surprised when they hadn't covered it at all online as they did with WRR.

ETA: They used an awesome picture, too--she looks great. Finally stopped using that AMA one.