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Kelly Clarkson Releases New Album ‘Stronger’

American Idol alum Kelly Clarkson’s fifth studio album was released on October 24, 2011. The album, released through the RCA label, was produced by Brian Kennedy, Ester Dean, Dante Jones, Rodney Jerkins, Toby Gad, and Howard Benson. The first single of the album was ‘Mr. Know It All,” which was released September 5, 2011.

The album was recorded in many different studios due to Clarkson’s touring schedule including Chalice Recording Studio in Los Angeles and Smoakstack and Starstruck Studios in Nashville. Stronger was recorded using minimal auto-tune processing, unlike her previous albums.

Stronger is consistent with Clarkson’s pop sound that is infused with R&B, and as a whole the album is closest in sound to her debut album, Thankful. Like her other albums, Clarkson’s vocals are featured heavily on each song, from the dance anthems to the heartfelt ballads.

“What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” Is a crazy rock anthem that will sure to have listeners everywhere jumping up and down. The first real ballad comes out in “Dark Side” a soft melody under lyrics about loving someone for who they are and every part of them. The most rebellious and hilarious track on the album is “Einstein” where Clarkson mixes lyrics and equations like simple math/our love divided by the square root of pride and dumb plus dumb equals you to create clever verses.

Both “You Love Me” and “Honestly” are in between hard rock and a ballad, with soft drums that compliment Clarkson’s high vocal range. The track “I Forgive You” is clearly written about a specific person and is an anthem for forgiving both yourself and someone else for the sake of moving on. Songs like “Hello,” “Let Me Down” and “You Can’t Win” are the guitar driven melodies that charge the album after the slower songs. The extra tracks on the deluxe version are “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” “Alone,” “Don’t Be A Girl About It,” “The Sun Will Rise” and “Why Don’t You Try.”

With Stronger, Clarkson blends her successful power pop melodies with her intense vocal range and quirky lyrics. This American Idol alum seems to have another successful album on her hands, without any controversy or backlash.