Kelly Clarkson – Chemistry (Deluxe) | 365 Days Of Inspiring Media

Atlantic Records

Release Date: September 22nd 2023

Reviewed by: Joshua Andre

Kelly Clarkson– Chemistry (Deluxe) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

Skip This Part
Mine
High Road
Me
Down to You
Chemistry
Favorite Kind of High
Magic
Lighthouse
Rock Hudson
My Mistake
Red Flag Collector
I Hate Love (feat. Steve Martin)
That’s Right (feat. Sheila E.)
I Won’t Give Up
Did You Know
You Don’t Make Me Cry (feat. River Rose)
Goodbye
Roses
Mine (Live from the Belasco)
Favorite Kind of High (David Guetta Remix)
Mine (Ty Sunderland Remix)

One of the most accomplished singer-songwriters/pop artists of this generation is the very first American Idol winner. Kelly Clarkson won the inaugural season in 2002 to much support; and ever since that title, she’s been storming down the gates, with her moving, inspiring, and powerful music, as well as resonating and empowering anthems. You can read about her in our blog about her influence here; and songs like “Since U Been Gone”, “Breakaway” (actually written by Avril Lavigne!), “The Trouble With Love Is”, “A Moment Like This”, “Never Again”, “Invincible”, “Mr. Know It All”, “Stronger”, “Medicine”, “I Do Not Hook Up”, “Piece By Piece”, and “Dark Side” (to name a few), have impacted and influenced listeners all over the globe. Kelly has charted Billboard lists, become an icon for pop music over the years, and has even hosted her own talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show in recent years, becoming a TV show host personality, just as much as she is a music personality. Kelly has also been a coach on The Voice throughout the years as well; and while her last studio album was 2017’s Meaning Of Life (she released a Christmas album last year, as well as a brand new single “I Dare You” in 2020, and a covers EP in June 2022!), it begs the question- when will Kelly release something brand new? The answer: we don’t have to wait that long for something new. In fact, Kelly released her brand-new studio album chemistry in June last year, and her deluxe edition album chemistry (deluxe) in September last year as well!

In 2022, Kelly and Dolly Parton unveiled a brand-new rendition of “9 To 5”, the iconic Dolly song from yesteryear. We reviewed the song here, and it’s evident that “9 To 5” is incredibly iconic and has etched its way into music culture and folklore; and for both Dolly and Kelly to reimagine this classic; is bound to give all of us spine tingling chills. “9 To 5” (this version), is a laid-back acoustic ballad-y version, in contrast to the upbeat original recording. But the impact and heart behind the song still remains timeless, and the lyrical themes and content depicting a person disgruntled with their job and their boss; still remains relevant and true today. Sometimes we do feel indifference and dare I say it- hate, towards our job and our boss; and “9 To 5” inspires us to always tell each other our feelings in a constructive way instead of thinking about ways to hurt our boss and deliberately sabotage our job. But as we are here to dive deep into the 22 songs that make up one of last year’s most authentic, emotional, personal and vulnerable albums; let us remember that Kelly as an artist is impressive, stellar and influential- she could personally continue for another 35-40 more years, and be at ‘Dolly Parton’ status come the end of her career!

It’s a hard record. It was hard to make, but it’s also not just [about] the bad of a relationship. … I didn’t want it to be a divorce album; I wanted it to be a relationship album. And there’s good stuff on there, like ‘Favorite Kind of High.’ There’s good parts. It wasn’t all bad, so I wanted to celebrate that as a whole. For the most part, it’s sad. But that’s how I work through what’s going on with me: through writing.

I wasn’t writing, like, “This is gonna be a record.” I was literally writing because that’s my form of therapy. I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a relationship where you just don’t know. You’re like, “Have I tried harder? Am I doing all I can?” You’re still on the fence; you just don’t know which way you’re gonna go, and you’ve felt like you’ve just been doing that, treading water, for so long. So I think — I don’t think, I know — that’s my form of figuring out: What am I feeling? It’s my way of getting through something.

Which just so happens to be a way of connecting with people, obviously, too, deciding to put some of these songs out. Because that’s the worst part, man, when you are alone and you feel like, as much as you try and describe your situation, no one knows that in their world like you do in yours. That’s true for everyone. So it could just feel very isolating, along with a global pandemic and trying to make America smile via a talk show. It felt very isolating and I just felt alone. And I think that’s one of the main reasons for releasing it for me. It’s like, man, if this helps one person relate to something or helps them through the grieving process, it’s worth it.

I think just most times if you think of your favorite albums that stick out to you — “Jagged Little Pill,” or most of Joni Mitchell’s records — unfortunately, a lot of great, relatable, hit-you-where-it-counts music comes from tragedy. Like, “Imagine,” John Lennon… that didn’t come from a happy experience. It came from like experiencing something horrible and trying to get at it through hope. By no means am I comparing my record to any of those people or to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” But I just think a lot of music in general that people relate to comes from hard times.

You know, even when I was making my Christmas record (2021’s “When Christmas Comes Around…”), that’s kind of a breakup Christmas album. Think of “Hard Candy Christmas”; that song is one of the most famous Christmas songs, and it’s one of my favorite songs of Dolly’s, and that’s a really sad song. It’s a song about hard times. With these kinds of albums, people are curious because during hard times people tend to get more raw, vulnerable and honest. And it’s relatable, instead of hearing you come out with some kind of pop-dance anthem that feels good, but it’s fleeting. But some songs and some albums last for fans for forever.

While chemistry is labelled as a ‘post-divorce’ album (an unfortunate messy divorce and behind the scenes drama as well!), the music here is surprisingly light, fun, joyous and bubbly; while the subject matter here is serious, deep, and profound, but in a light-hearted way. Album opener “Skip This Part” is a harrowing, emotional and personal opener where Kelly relays in this piano ballad that she’d like the skip the immediate aftermath of her divorce from her ex, with all of the media scrutinising her every move and spreading rumours about certain aspects of why the relationship went sour. The truth is, divorce probably is a complicated thing, and for Kelly to be wanting to skip the turmoil is incredibly valid and understandable. “Mine”, the savage and brutal takedown of Kelly’s ex (the first single from the album), relays that Kelly hopes that her ex gets what’s coming to him and that someone else uses him like he did Kelly (similar in theme to Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope”!); while the somewhat self-deprecating and self-flagellating melody “High Road” has Kelly wondering why taking the high road and turning the other cheek doesn’t feel as rewarding as how she was once taught and how she once thought and believed, that ‘…I walk the high road where nobody knows my name, I’m gettin’ tired of playin’ these stupid games, I do my best tryin’ to keep the world afloat, but I don’t need this, no, I don’t need this…’. “Me”, the second single from Chemistry, delves deeper into the reasons why Kelly and her ex Brandon split up, with him being insanely jealous of her success and his desperate need for her to need him in a greater way that she could exist by herself. With the song highlighting the fact that Kelly realised at the end of the marriage that she doesn’t need a man for all of the things she thought she needed him for- as she has herself; this song encourages us to not tie our identity to one particular person, as you’re always going to be let down as people disappoint you from time to time.

The rest of Chemistry (Deluxe) has plenty more musical, lyrical and vocal moments that make us stop and marvel at Kelly’s prowess as a singer and songwriter- and also makes us be in awe and empathise a bit with her plight of picking herself back up after her divorce. “Down To You” highlights Kelly’s conclusion that her ex seems to be the lowest of all people and that he can’t bring her down to his level; while the title track delves into complexities surround their relationship and the fact that Kelly still feels some level of physical and emotional chemistry towards her ex. Both “Favorite Kind Of High”, a EDM/pop melody, and the laid back synth led ballad “Magic”, has Kelly reminiscing to the early days of her relationship with her ex where he was her favourite kind of ‘high’ and where her ex and her did create ‘magic’ together for a long time back when they were together; while “Lighthouse” is undoubtedly one of the most personal and vivid tracks on this project, with Kelly eloquently describing how her relationship with Brandon deteriorated- complete with metaphors and imagery of a lighthouse with the light burnt out. “Rock Hudson”, another emotional and personal pop melody, has Kelly comparing her ex to Rock Hudson (an actor- and like most actors, they pretend their life is perfect on camera when it really isn’t away from the spotlight), and further concluding that her ex really put on a show for her and he orchestrated their whole relationship so that she would feel like a pawn in her own life; while “My Mistake” has Kelly even questioning both her and her ex’s own vows as she believes her ex may have feelings for someone else.

By this point in the album, you really start to feel for Kelly and how the divorce went down and how she was neglected and gaslighted, and all of that really comes to a head in “Red Flag Collector”- where Brandon just piled up all of these red flags throughout their marriage, and now one by one Kelly is listing it out for him as to why they aren’t together anymore- with reasons being that he presumably wasn’t faithful, and was jealous and possessive as well. “I Hate Love” with Steve Martin on banjo, is Kelly giving a bad ‘rap’ and a horrible endorsement on the entire concept of love, give everything she’s been through; while “That’s Right”, with Sheila E. on percussion, speaks about how Kelly and her ex were ultimately and fundamentally different people and how she always wanted to do different everyday, mundane things compared to the bigger and grandiose things he wanted to do. “I Won’t Give Up” further details Kelly’s resilience and her tenacity to keep going despite adversity and hardship; while “Did You Know” implores Kelly’s ex and asks him whether he really knew Kelly at all- with the song outlining all of the things that makes Kelly unique and the things she expected him to know and love about her.

“You Don’t Make Me Cry”, a sober conclusion that Kelly’s ex doesn’t have a positive or negative effect on her anymore, is sung with Kelly’s daughter River Rose; while “Goodbye” is a final track directed to Kelly’s ex, as she explicitly and in no uncertain terms tells him ‘goodbye’. “Roses” profoundly describes how there aren’t enough roses Kelly’s ex could bring her that would make her change her mind about restarting the relationship; while “Mine” and “Favorite Kind Of High” are remixed on Chemistry (Deluxe), and “Mine” is also included as a live recording as well.

I do relate to that [being a different version of me sometimes]. I think all of us are… I don’t wanna say “guilty of that,” but all of us can fall into that temptation of like, “OK, I just have to do what I gotta do. I’m gonna put myself on the back burner, do the job…” Whether you work in a cubicle from 9 to 5, everybody has that, where you’re not having a great day and you have to go to work and it’s not the fault of anybody there. I’m very good at compartmentalizing, to a fault, and so I’m able to do that. There was one time I was not in the past three years. I never really canceled anything, but I had to cancel something, just because physically you could tell I was destroyed. There was no hiding it.

But I think for the most part, we’re all capable of showing up at work, clocking in and going, OK, I’m gonna focus on this, and then I’m gonna clock out — and then it’s me again. When you’re clocking in, you’re still you; it’s just the version of you that, honestly, you hope to like feel one day again. You’re showing up and you’re smiling and you’re focusing on other people. Especially with my show: I get to focus on these incredible people that are doing insanely cool things, that are honestly a healthy distraction during that time, and that honestly puts things in perspective, for you and your world. But I think it’s all me. It’s just sometimes, we do put our best foot forward for people, not because you’re really afraid to show people the pain. Because I definitely show people that. It’s just more so because this moment is not about me. These people have been waiting to have this moment, about their organization, their scene, their movie, talking about whatever — this is about them.

So that’s about just not being selfless in that moment. But I think I’ve been a healthy amount of honest about the gist of everything, because I feel like it’s transparent. People eventually see through that.

I would love to be the girl that would tell you right now that I won’t fall prey to the same unhealthy habits or things that have got me where I was in the first place, but I think we’re always working on it, right? So, even when I’m singing it, it’s a nice reminder of, like, “Look, you know, red flag.” That’s a nice reminder to just keep reminding you of surrounding yourself with those who you want to be like, or that make you a better version of you, or make you happy.

But I would be lying if I said I weren’t singing some of these songs and still feeling a tinge of that pull. I mean, it’s basically like how addicts like addiction. You’re used to habitual patterns, you’re used to these things and I think you’re an idiot to go, “Oh, I’m immune to doing that, since I’ve gotten through it.” I think you’re constantly reminding yourself not to do something, or, “Hey, have more self-worth than that.” I think we’re constantly, if you’re being honest, always having to remind yourself of those habits you maybe have had since childhood. I think it’s constant, and that’s OK.

Kelly Clarkson is one of the biggest stars of our generation. Her latest album chemistry (deluxe) is kind of like reading from a diary or a confessional or a scrapbook- it’s incredibly personal, and no doubt it will be encouraging and inspiring for those going through what Kelly has been going through for the past few years. Kelly has created a fabulous and incredible album- and is slowly building one of the most impressive and complete discographies I’ve heard in a long time. Sky is the limit for Kelly, and here’s hoping and praying that Kelly’s relationships and her friendships are sunnier and a lot more fun and happier than the past few years. I don’t know if chemistry (deluxe) will be able to be topped in terms of overall sound and lyrics. But if there’s anyone that can do it, it would be Kelly- and I can’t wait for what is next! Maybe an acoustic album or a live album?