About the Song:
Kelly Clarkson was born in 1982 in Forth Worth, Texas. She shot to fame as the winner of the first season of television’s American Idol talent contest in 2002. Her debut single, “A Moment Like This,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and became the biggest selling song of the year. The song was featured on her debut album, 2003’s Thankful, which topped the album chart and sold over two million copies.
She went with a more pop-rock sound for her second studio album, 2004’s Breakaway. It sold six million copies in the U.S. on the strength of four top-ten singles. The most successful of these was “Since U Been Gone,” “an uptempo pop rock and power pop ballad that infuses electronic sounds with a mixture of a soft and loud pop rock sound.” WK It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The songwriters/producers Max Martin and Dr. Luke were both involved in the song. Max Martin previously worked on Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” and later on #1 hits for Taylor Swift (“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space”) and Pink (“So What,” “Raise Your Glass”). This was Dr. Luke’s first hit although he and Martin later collaborated on #1 hits by Katy Perry (“I Kissed a Girl,” “California Gurls,” “Roar,” “Dark Horse”). Dr. Luke would go on to work on #1 hits by Flo Rida (“Right Round”), Ke$ha (“Tik Tok”), Pitbull (“Timber”), and Miley Cyrus (“Wrecking Ball”).
The song is written “from a woman’s point of view where she expresses her sense of relief with the end of her troubled relationship.” WK It was inspired by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ 2003 song “Maps.” Dr. Luke explained that he and Martin were listening to more alternative and indie music and loved this song, but thought it lacked a pop chorus so they essentially wrote their own version WK with a “big, juicy chorus.” SF
Martin had Pink in mind for the song, but she turned it down. Then Hilary Duff rejected it because she couldn’t reach the higher notes. WK Clive Davis, the chief creative artist at Sony (Clarkson’s label) convinced the writers to give the song to Clarkson. SF They were reluctant because they were wanting to move in a more rock direction, but after hearing the stronger rock influence of her nearly finished album, they agreed. WK Even then, Clarkson added heavier guitar and drums to the song. WK
Rohin of Blogcritics called the song “almost one of the best pieces of throwaway pop in recent history.” WK NPR Music’s Stephen Thompson said it was “one of the decade’s finest pop anthems.” WK Billboard’s Gary Trust said it was a defining song of the 2000s and a blueprint for female pop songs. WK
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First posted 8/6/2023.
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