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Chemistry (Kelly Clarkson album)

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Chemistry
Shows a picture of a blonde woman, appearing full color in the front and faded on both the right and left sides.
Studio album by
Kelly Clarkson
ReleasedJune 23, 2023 (2023-06-23)
Recorded2020–2022
Genre
Length44:40
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Kelly Clarkson chronology
Kellyoke
(2022) 		Chemistry
(2023)
Singles from Chemistry
  1. "Mine" / "Me"
    Released: April 14, 2023
  2. "Favorite Kind of High"
    Released: May 19, 2023
  3. "Lighthouse" / "I Won't Give Up"
    Released: March 1, 2024[2]

Chemistry is the tenth studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It was released on June 23, 2023, through Atlantic Records. The album is produced by Clarkson's longtime collaborators, Jason Halbert and Jesse Shatkin, as well as newcomers Erick Serna and Rachel Orscher. Debuting at number six on Billboard 200, it became Clarkson's ninth top ten album on the chart. It is her first full-length studio album release of original material since 2017's Meaning of Life.

The album features collaborations with Steve Martin and Sheila E., and according to Clarkson, it illustrates "the arc of an entire relationship", showing every emotion you experience from the beginning to the end, related to the end of her marriage with Brandon Blackstock.[3]

Chemistry was promoted with two singles: the double-A-side singles, "Mine" / "Me" and "Favorite Kind of High". The album supported Clarkson's first ever Las Vegas residency, Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson, which ran for fourteen nights from July 28, 2023, to February 10, 2024.

Chemistry was met with positive reviews, with critics praising Clarkson's voice and the album's emotional and sonic dexterity. A deluxe reissue of the album featuring five new tracks was released on September 22, 2023.[4] Chemistry was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.[5]

Background

[edit]

Clarkson started working on the follow-up to her 2017 album, Meaning of Life, in 2019. In June 2020, she announced her divorce from husband Brandon Blackstock. Prior to the divorce, she described the album as if Breakaway (2004) and Stronger (2011) had a baby, and more like Meaning of Life. When she appeared on Sunday Today with Willie Geist in September 2020, she then described the album as every emotion you experience from the beginning to the end of a relationship. She calls it the most personal one she has ever released, and it has been therapeutic for her.[6] Clarkson mentioned she had written around sixty songs while going through her divorce.[7]

In a September 2022 interview with Variety, Clarkson talked about the album. She said she had been working on it for two years; it was an important one, and a lot of the songs were recorded two years earlier (2020). When the divorce happened, she needed to write about it. She told her label, "I can't talk about this until I've gone through it," and it's just taken some time to do that. That's one of the reasons we've done a lot of the Christmas stuff the past two years – because I was like, "Well, that's happy!" Describing the record, she says, "And it's not all bad – like, there is heartbreak in it, and there is sadness in it."[8][9]

In January 2023, during an Instagram live, she mentioned she had just done the album photo shoot with Brian Bowen Smith.[10] While appearing on Angie Martinez's Angie Martinez IRL podcast, Clarkson mentioned one of the songs on the album is called "Red Flag Collector".[11]

Recording and production

[edit]

Clarkson recorded most of the album in 2020.[8] Two of Clarkson's frequent collaborators, Jason Halbert and Jesse Shatkin, returned to produce this album along with newcomers Eric Serna and Rachel Orscher.

Composition

[edit]

Clarkson wrote on all but two of the album's tracks. "High Road" the third track, is an original song by the duo Jane Black. Rachel Orscher of Jane Black is the associate music producer for The Kelly Clarkson Show, and when Clarkson heard it she thought about asking Orscher if she could cover it during one her Kellyoke segments. Orscher then allowed Clarkson to record the song for the album. Orscher helped produced it with Halbert, and allowed Clarkson to take the song up an octave.[12]

The fourth song "Me" was first written by Gayle and Josh Ronen. They wrote the first verse and chorus. When Clarkson told Atlantic that she was a fan of Gayle's, they told her that she was their artist. Atlantic then sent Clarkson the song. In one night, Clarkson finished the rest of the song.[13]

Clarkson, Jesse Shatkin, and Carly Rae Jepsen wrote the seventh song "Favorite Kind of High". Before it was given to Clarkson, Jepsen wrote the track to it, with Clarkson writing the lyrics and melody when she was given it. One of the happier songs on the album, it is described as a "sexy-ass song" and how it's about "that high when you first see someone and you're like 'Oh, shit.'"[14]

"Red Flag Collector", written by Clarkson, Halbert, and her guitarist Jaco Caraco, begins with a western saloon style vibe with a guitar strum and whistling (from Caraco). The song then takes a more rock turn. A whip can be heard throughout the song, and trumpets are added halfway through. In the bridge, the western saloon style briefly returns with the piano.[15]

The thirteenth track, "I Hate Love", which Clarkson describes as a pop-punk track, features Steve Martin on banjo. Clarkson references Martin in the song which gave her to the idea for Martin to play banjo on it. The title of the track is used in a sarcastic manner.[16] Sheila E. plays drums on the last song "That's Right."

Release and promotion

[edit]

Chemistry was released by Atlantic Records on June 23, 2023. In a September 2022 interview with Variety, Clarkson announced she would release the album in 2023, calling the album "important" and citing music as "helpful" in vocalizing what she feels.[17] On March 25, 2023, Clarkson tweeted wine, heartbreak and sunshine emojis, which is how she described the album while appearing on Access Daily in January 2023.[9] The following day, she announced the album's title on her social media accounts and announced it would be released "soon".[3][18][19] There are multiple colored Vinyl LPs.[20]

On April 24, 2023, to help celebrate the release of the album, Clarkson performed the entire Chemistry album at the Belasco Theatre in Los Angeles. The show was taped.[21] On June 22, 2023, she appeared on The Today Show to promote the album. She returned to Today on September 22, 2023, to perform. She performed "Favorite Kind of High", "Mine", "Lighthouse", and "Since U Been Gone".[22] The deluxe reissue of the album was released the same day. On October 13, she performed "Lighthouse" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On October 16, she opened the fifth season of her talk show with "I Won't Give Up", and later appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers.[23][24][25]

Clarkson promoted the album during a fourteen night Las Vegas residency, Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson. It ran from July 28 to August 19, 2023, December 30–31, 2023, and February 9–10, 2024, at the Bakkt Theater.[26][27]

Singles

[edit]

"Mine" and "Me" served as the album's lead single as a double-A-side.[28] Clarkson explained the reason behind the release, saying "we decided to release 'Mine' and 'Me' at the same time because I didn't want to release just one song to represent an entire album, or relationship." It was released on April 14, 2023.[29]

"Favorite Kind of High" was released as the album's second single on May 19, 2023.[30]

"I Hate Love" featuring Steve Martin and "Red Flag Collector" were released as promotional singles on June 2 and 9, 2023.[16][15]

Two days before the album was released, "Lighthouse" was released as the third promotional single on June 21, 2023[31] before being released as the album's third single as a double-A-side on vinyl along with "I Won't Give Up" on March 1, 2024.[32][2]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[33]
i[34]
The Line of Best Fit7/10[35]
Metro[36]
MusicOMH[37]
PopMatters7/10[38]
Slant Magazine[39]

Chemistry was met with positive reviews from critics, who praised Clarkson's voice and the album's emotional and sonic dexterity. On review aggregator Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, chemistry received a score of 70 out of 100 based on seven reviews.

Critics praised the personal nature of chemistry, with Hanif Abdurraqib of The New Yorker writing that the album "successfully preserves the aura of interpersonal intimacy that Clarkson has cultivated with audiences for two decades" with Clarkson at times "sing[ing] in a torrential flow, like a person who has held her frustrations and aches inside for too long."[40] Ilana Kaplan of Rolling Stone similarly wrote, "the record hinges on Clarkson's emotive vocals and soul-baring lyrics, turning Chemistry into her most vulnerable project since My December."[41]

Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times praised Clarkson's vocals and highlighted the "wrenching, piano-driven torch song 'Lighthouse'" in particular, a song she described as "one of the album’s most impassioned vocal performances."[42]

Kate Solomon of i also praised the album's exploration of emotion and wrote, "Chemistry ripples with sadness even at its most upbeat moments. Clarkson has always been a master of the heartbroken power ballads but these feel more understated than her adolescent weepies. She's more restrained, more mature and more conflicted."[34] Lucy Norris of Metro wrote, "Chemistry was three years in the making and ultimately ripped apart her breakup, while allowing listeners physically feel her put herself right back together again in the most triumphant exploration of love we’ve ever heard from the 2002 American Idol champion."[36]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Chemistry debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 with 53,000 equivalent album units earned, of which 9,000 SEA units account for 11.25 million on-demand official streams and 43,000 albums sales, making it the top-selling physical album of the week.[43] It became Clarkson's ninth top-10 album in the United States.[44]

Track listing

[edit]
Chemistry track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Skip This Part"
Halbert3:37
2."Mine"
  • Serna
  • Shatkin
3:11
3."High Road"
  • Rachel Orscher
  • Justin Womble
  • Jane Black
  • Halbert
3:19
4."Me"
  • Halbert
  • Shatkin
3:35
5."Down to You"
Shatkin3:09
6."Chemistry"
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
  • Serna
  • Shatkin
  • Randy Runyon
2:30
7."Favorite Kind of High"
Shatkin2:55
8."Magic"
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
  • Runyon
Shatkin3:15
9."Lighthouse"
Shatkin3:21
10."Rock Hudson"
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
Shatkin3:22
11."My Mistake"
Shatkin3:16
12."Red Flag Collector"
  • Clarkson
  • Halbert
  • Jaco Caraco
Halbert2:58
13."I Hate Love" (featuring Steve Martin)
Shatkin3:33
14."That's Right" (featuring Sheila E.)
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
  • Serna
  • Shatkin
  • Serna
2:39
Total length:44:40
Chemistry – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."I Won't Give Up"
Shatkin3:28
16."Did You Know"
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
  • Chris Kelly
  • John Ryan
  • Ruth-Anne Cunningham
Shatkin3:09
17."You Don't Make Me Cry" (featuring River Rose)
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
Shatkin3:24
18."Goodbye"
  • Clarkson
  • Halbert
Halbert3:17
19."Roses"
Shatkin3:33
20."Mine" (Live from the Belasco)
  • Clarkson
  • Serna
  • Shatkin
 3:22
21."Favorite Kind of High" (David Guetta remix)
  • Clarkson
  • Shatkin
  • Jepsen
Shatkin2:33
22."Mine" (Ty Sunderland remix)
  • Clarkson
  • Serna
  • Shatkin
 4:01
Total length:1:11:00

Personnel

[edit]

Vocals

Musicians

Production

Imagery

  • Gloria Elias-Foeillet – makeup
  • Alex Kirzhner – art direction
  • Candace Lambert McAndrews – styling
  • Robert Ramos – hair
  • Brian Bowen Smith – photography

Charts

[edit]

Release history

[edit]
Chemistry release history
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various June 23, 2023
Atlantic [55]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Chemistry by Kelly Clarkson". Metacritic. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Bix on X: "I might have to get this one. Lighthouse/I won't give up 7…". X (formerly Twitter). December 20, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Jones, Alexis (March 26, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Details New Album Chemistry: 'The Arc of an Entire Relationship'". People. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Pearson, Emmerson (August 17, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Announces Deluxe Album Of 'Chemistry', Daughter River Rose Will Be Featured". ET Canada. Corus Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  5. ^ McClellan, Jennifer; Ruggieri, Melissa (November 10, 2023). "SZA leads Grammy nominees, Miley could get 1st win and Taylor Swift is poised to make history". USA Today. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "Kelly Clarkson: My next album will 'probably be the most personal one' yet". Today. September 10, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Murphy, Desiree (February 25, 2021). "Kelly Clarkson Says She's Written 60 New Songs During Divorce Process (Exclusive)". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Wagmeister, Elizabeth (September 7, 2022). "Can Kelly Clarkson Save Daytime? The Host on Taking Over Ellen's Spot, Touring Again and Broadway Dreams". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Kelly Clarkson Shares Details On 2023 NFL Honors Hosting Gig & 'Personal' Upcoming Album (EXCLUSIVE)". Access. January 25, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  10. ^ The Kelly Clarkson Show. "We gave Kelly a horn 🎉🎉🎉 Making 2023 predictions LIVE!". Instagram.
  11. ^ Angie Martinez (March 13, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson - Angie Martinez IRL Podcast". YouTube. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  12. ^ Benitez-Eves, Tina (July 1, 2023). "American Songwriter July/August Cover Story: Kelly Clarkson—Pieced Together". American Songwriter. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  13. ^ "The Kelly Clarkson Show on Instagram: "LIVE! "mine / Me" out NOW "chemistry" out June 23 🧪 #mineme #chemistry"".
  14. ^ Zemler, Emily (May 19, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Just Wants Love on Buoyant New Single 'Favorite Kind of High'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Goldstein, Tiffany (June 9, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Gives Taste of Forthcoming Album With "Red Flag Collector," Releases Tracklist". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Walcott, Escher (June 2, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Drops New Single 'I Hate Love' — Featuring Steve Martin on Banjo!". People. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (September 7, 2022). "Kelly Clarkson's Divorce Album Is Coming: Singer Announces New Music for 2023 (Exclusive)". Variety. United States. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  18. ^ Legaspi, Althea (March 26, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Details New Album Chemistry". Rolling Stone. United States. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  19. ^ Peters, Mitchell (March 26, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Announces Post-Divorce Album Chemistry, Explains Meaning Behind the Title". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  20. ^ "Chemistry Vinyl". Kelly Clarkson Merch. Atlantic Records and Kelly Clarkson. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  21. ^ "Kelly Clarkson - Official Twitter". Twitter. April 24, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "Kelly Clarkson talks new album, moving to NY, outlook on dating". Today. NBC Universal. June 22, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  23. ^ Kreps, Daniel (October 14, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Takes Over 'Fallon' to Perform 'Lighthouse,' Play Backward Songs Game". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  24. ^ Dailey, Hannah (October 13, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Teases 'Kelly Clarkson Show' Season 5 Music Video Featuring Special Guests in NYC". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  25. ^ Vincenty, Samantha (October 17, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Tells Seth Meyers About Moving The Kelly Clarkson Show to New York City". NBC. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  26. ^ Weisholtz, Drew (March 27, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson is playing Vegas this summer. Here's how to get tickets". Today. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Katsilometes, John (October 23, 202). "Kelly Clarkson to play NYE, Super Bowl weekends at Planet Hollywood". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  28. ^ "Kelly Clarkson Unveils New Singles "Mine" / "Me"". Atlantic Records. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  29. ^ Gomez, Patrick (April 14, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson releases powerful post-divorce songs — and teases Chemistry song with Steve Martin". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  30. ^ "Kelly Clarkson Shares Summer-Ready Single "favorite kind of high"". Atlantic Records. May 19, 2023. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  31. ^ "lighthouse". Spotify. June 21, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  32. ^ "lighthouse / i won't give up 7" vinyl". Kelly Clarkson. January 2024. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  33. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Chemistry Review". AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Solomon, Kate (June 26, 2023). "kelly Clarkson, Chemistry review: More mature, more conflicted and more restrained than ever". i. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  35. ^ Thaadeus, Shearmen (June 27, 2023). "Chemistry cements Kelly Clarkson's pop icon status". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  36. ^ a b Thaadeus, Shearmen (June 23, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson's rising from ashes of a broken heart to prove she's still got plenty of Chemistry with inner songstress". Metro. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  37. ^ Murphy, John (June 24, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry". MusicOMH. OMH. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  38. ^ Thaadeus, Shearmen (June 29, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson's Divorce Album Has 'Chemistry'". PopMatters. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  39. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (June 20, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Chemistry Review: Distilling Heartbreak Down to a Science". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  40. ^ Abdurraqib, Hanif (June 29, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson's Captivating Divorce Album". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  41. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (June 26, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson Turns the Messiness of Divorce into Showstopping Pop Spectacle on 'Chemistry'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  42. ^ Zoladz, Lindsay (June 26, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson's 'Chemistry' Draws on Familiar Formulas". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  43. ^ Caulfield, Keith (July 2, 2023). "Morgan Wallen's 'One Thing at a Time' Spends 15th Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  44. ^ Dresdale, Andrea (July 3, 2023). "Kelly Clarkson scores ninth top 10 album with 'Chemistry' | ABC Audio Digital Syndication". ABC Audio. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  45. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. July 3, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  46. ^ "Kelly Clarkson Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  47. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  48. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 27. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
  49. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  50. ^ "Top 100 Vinilos Semanal" (in Spanish). PROMUSICAE. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  51. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  52. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  53. ^ "Kelly Clarkson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  54. ^ "Year-End Charts: Top Album Sales (2023)". Billboard. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  55. ^ Chemistry release formats:
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