Kelly Clarkson has turned herself into a global superstar since becoming the original ‘American Idol’ back in 2002. Initially signed to RCA, Clarkson achieved phenomenal success across seven albums with all but one, 2015’s ‘Piece By Piece’, being certified Platinum (or higher for her first two records). Ahead of her 2017 album ‘Meaning of Life’, Clarkson departed from RCA and signed with Atlantic Records, and with that her commercial success has taken a substantial hit. That album managed a Gold certification but it didn’t produce any hits. In the years since Clarkson released her second Christmas album ‘When Christmas Comes Around…’ and established herself a force to be reckoned with on TV with roles on ‘The Voice US’ and fronting her own chat show ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’.
It’s safe to say that Clarkson’s profile is pretty high right now so expectations around new music are pretty high. In 2021 Clarkson went through a bitter public divorce from her husband Brandon Blackstock, and she channelled that experience into her tenth studio album ‘chemistry’. Promising fans a warts-and-all, highs-and-lows journey documenting the breakdown of her marriage, there were hopes that the singer might revisit the rockier and edgier sound of her criminally under-rated 2007 album ‘My December’.
As is the fashion these days, ‘chemistry’ arrives with around half of the album already being made available including the two lead tracks ‘mine’ and ‘me’. What those two tracks showcased is that Clarkson is going to be brutally honest across the record but what they both lacked, is that punch that fans have come to expect from the star’s music. Now the full album is here, the project as a whole just doesn’t ever seem to come out of second gear. Clarkson’s vocals, as always, are fantastic but the 14 tracks offer little in the way of variety and that means they all end up blending into each.
There are glimpses of Clarkson trying something new across the record. ‘down to you’ sees Clarkson singing over a rhythm that we’ve not heard before, and it’s one of the few uptempo moments on the record. ‘favorite kind of high’, co-written with Canadian pop singer Carly Rae Jepsen is the album’s best chance of a chart smash thanks to it euphoric feel, that sits awkwardly with the dowdy mood of much of the rest of the record. ‘i hate love’, co-written with Nick Jonas and featuring Steve Martin is easily the album’s best moment, with Clarkson putting a nice twist on a breakup.
Elsewhere on the record, it’s genuinely difficult to tell one track from another. From opening track ‘skip this part’ through to fourth track ‘me’, there’s little variety or shift in gear. Lyrically the songs offer plenty to unpack, but musically they’re surprisingly unengaging and unadventurous. ‘lighthouse’, which sits near the album’s midpoint, is a classic Clarkson ballad that stands out from the pack thanks to its stripped-back emotional honesty. For the album closer, Clarkson collaborates with drummer Sheila E for an odd tropical-influenced number that doesn’t work with the rest of the album at all.
As someone who’s been a fan of Clarkson since her ‘American Idol’ days, I’ve always struggled with her as an album artist. Following her first three records, all of which were solid, there’s been a lack of consistency and sadly ‘chemistry’ continues that trend. This is by no means a bad album, but from a star as capable and vocally gifted as Clarkson, the expectation is a lot higher. I understand ‘chemistry’ is an album that she needed to get off her chest but unfortunately it’s not going to rank up there with the likes of Alanis Morissette’s ‘Jagged Little Pill’ or Carly Pearce’s ’29: Written in Stone’ as one of the all-time great breakup records.
Track list: 1. skip this part 2. mine 3. high road 4. me 5. down to you 6. chemistry 7. favorite kind of high 8. magic 9. lighthouse 10. rock Hudson 11. my mistake 12. red flag collector 13. i hate love (feat. Steve Martin) 14. that’s right Record label: Atlantic Records Release date: 23rd June 2023 Buy ‘chemistry’ now
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