Good for Kelly Clarkson. She’s shown the world that she can come back from that waste of time and money she called her third album, My December, and actually create something worth listening to – something that’s actually a brilliant pop album!

Her fourth record, All I Ever Wanted opens with the power pop hit, “My Life Would Suck Without You.” Far from having the most eloquent of lyrics, it still showcases Kelly’s excellent vocal range, and is catchy as all hell. Because the song has a style that is eerily similar to her previous hit, “Since U Been Gone,” I’m starting to believe that all of Kelly’s songs might just be the same thing with different lyrics… Luckily, this trick seems to be working in her favor so far.

Kelly really stretches her lyric-writing skills again (insert sarcasm here) on “I Do Not Hook Up.” The song itself is an anthemic hit-to-be, though. The first of many on this album.

Unfortunately, the pop idol seldom manages to hold listeners’ attention on her slow, ballady songs, so “Don’t Let Me Stop You” is a welcome up-tempo respite between the moaning “Cry” and “Already Gone.”

On the title track and “If I Can’t Have You,” Kelly brings electronica influences to to the music, which, most of the time, are blended in very well with her voice, making the tracks future club hits.

On “Whyyawannabringmedown” (yes, another lyrical gem), Kelly goes all angry girl punk band pretty successfully. If you’ve ever heard her sing about anything else, you won’t believe the attitude she tries to pull off on this track, but on it’s own, it’s a great in-your-face, electric number.

“Ready” and “I Want You” are cheesy, but heart-warming numbers that Kelly’s fans will love. And “If No One Will Listen” has good intentions, but unfortunately loses everyone’s attention as the last song of the record.

Overall, the album is great. It completely wipes the floor with her wreck of a last album, it’s got catchy songs throughout and it doesn’t feature Kelly whining with an Alanis Morissette-style hate of men, thank goodness! Now if someone could just buy her a dictionary so that she doesn’t fill her next record with B-grade lyrics…

 

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Monica Davies

Article by Monica Davies

2 Comments

  • Mark
    Mark on

    As a correction, Kelly Clarkson did not write “I Do Not Hook Up” or “Whyyawannabringmedown”
    The lyrics she did write were “Cry,” “Already Gone,” “If I Can’t Have You,” “Ready,” “Impossible,” and “I Want You”

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  • Susan
    Susan on

    Wow! Make up your mind. Do you want her to write something different as she did in My December or the same old thing as you say she is doing now? I fail to see how My December was a disaster. Even though it didn’t sell as well as previous albums, it sold over $2M, which compared to other artists is pretty good for a “disaster”. I get that you don’t like her ballads, but I love most of the ballads on here and do not have any difficulty holding my attention to them.

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