"Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway

"Because of you / I find it hard to trust / not only me, but everyone around me…" sums up this song. Kelly Clarkson, with her superb and amazingly flexible and strong vocals, sings the haunting song "Because of You".

With the music video, the song's narrator speaks to someone, probably her father, whose use of her as an emotional crutch when she was also hurting has handicapped her. He in his pain insisted that none around him show any signs of "weakness" (like crying), not realizing that others were also hurting.

The emotional pain comes through powerfully in the song, one of Kelly Clarkson's more personal ones. She wrote it at sixteen, though she says she's since recovered from much of the pain with God's help. "Because of You" still stands as a lament to her troubled background.

Though the vocals are, as usual, Kelly Clarkson's strong point, the music still melds with above-average quality with her voice. The music of this gentle pop rock ballad doesn't get noticed much if you focus on enjoying Kelly.

Overall, it's a lovely rock ballad, even if something about the sound doesn't make it my personal preference.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 9/10

"Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway

"Now all that's left of me is what I pretend to be," Kelly Clarkson admits in "Behind These Hazel Eyes". "Here I am, once again, torn into pieces," happens to all of us emotionally at one point or another.

Eh, so the song's obviously talking about a boyfriend. Those of us who can't relate to that can ignore those phrases and associate the song with a time when we've been "broken up, deep inside," not letting others "see the tears [we] cry." For me, it happens to be when someone I know dies; I'm strong for others, then break down weeks after they've gotten over yet—if I let myself. (That's an off-topic story that will likely turn up in one of my novels, someday.)

The lyrics "Behind These Hazel Eyes" are a refreshing shift from all the whining despite the obvious upset of the song's narrator. Bits and pieces of the well-chosen lyrics, like the "I thought you were The One," point to the shattering of the romantic dream as well as the relationship, so the narrator's likely wising up, too, or is at least headed that way. ("Swallow me then spit me out.") It's a more mature peek than most songs into the emotional rifts we all experience at some point, though not always from a boyfriend or girlfriend. And the song's clean! (Thank you, Kelly Clarkson! Regardless of who wrote it, you chose to sing it!)

From the songs I've heard by her, I'd have to call her vocals the best here. Her smooth vocal shifts in "No, I don't cry on the outside—anymore!! …Anymore," surprise me.

The music, too, is unusually good from her. Still mostly beat, but it sounds much better than she usually does. I'm giving her the benefit of rounding with the "above average" rating there, but it still could've been much better.

"Behind These Hazel Eyes" is likely my favorite song I've heard by Kelly Clarkson.

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Lyrics: 5/5
Music: 4/5
Vocal(s): 5/5
Overall: 8/10

"Never Again" by Kelly Clarkson from My December

Well, once again I'm a bit surprised at liking a Kelly Clarkson song—not from the title or bitter theme, but from the vengeful aspect that thankfully is referred to without crass language. ("I hope, when you're in bed with her, you think of me.")

That's one thing I like about what songs I've heard from Kelly Clarkson; clean language. Admittedly, "Never Again" does use "Bet it sucks" in the chorus, but not everyone considers that crude. Kelly's been burned by a two-timing boyfriend and sings this as a refusal to accept him back and as a warning to those who do accept him. ("He'll be through with you!")

Kelly's voice well manages the repeated shifts between loud and soft anger. She obviously knows how to sing and has a pleasing voice, but it's not exactly a "wow"er. (Unless, of course, you're comparing her to the people who don't know how to sing.)

She calls "Never Again" probably the most bitter song she's written; sometimes you just want something to yell along with. That this is more of an angry moment than one in a series of angry songs I consider a plus, but it still leaves me repeating a lot of others when I say I'm glad I'm not on her bad side—at least I hope not, since she doesn't know I exist.

Unfortunately, I can't say I like her choice of lyrics much. It's some nice imagery with the "Sunday School answer" and "trophy wife," but it strikes me as perhaps a bit disjointed. Granted, she's angry, and anger tends to produce less-than-ideal wordings, but… You're free to disagree with me on that one.

Also as usual is the average music backing Kelly Clarkson's song. I wouldn't mind if I happened to hear this song on the radio, and I'd be willing to look up more songs from My December to check 'em out, but buy the album in a few weeks? If I had enough extra money to splurge on that, I'd be donating to the missionaries I know.

An added dislike is the music video. It is pretty interesting, but I know my father (or brother) wouldn't let me outside in what she wears for much of it, and there's a reason for that.

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Lyrics: 3/5
Music: 3/5
Vocal(s): 4/5
Overall: 6/10

"Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson from Breakaway

Usually, when something uses netspeak, I flee in the other direction, especially when it can't get the grammar correct. "Since U Been Gone" should have been one of the victims of my flight. Thankfully, I'm curious enough about Andromeda's Rommie that I watched a music vid with this song and realized I liked it, much to my surprise after I saw the title, which I triple-checked in disbelief.

Kelly Clarkson's energetic young voice is precise and pleasing; she knows how to sing. The upbeat pop rock style she has chosen to produce isn't striking, but it isn't bad, either. Anyone with some experience in listening to pop rock will probably find someone to compare the sound to; it's little more than beat and a slight bit of emphasis. Kelly's voice is the attraction.

Despite using the usual concept of a boyfriend who ditched the song's narrator, "Since U Been Gone" is unusually frank about how idiotic most of those "stupid love song[s]" are. Rather than mope, the narrator is getting on with life. Hey, she made a stupid choice with a jerk boyfriend, but she's grown up from that circumstance. The story's a refreshing Breakaway from the too-popular complaining.

That mature handling of the topic with clean lyrics is refreshing. Kelly Clarkson even avoids the potentially offensive "shut up," the narrator singing "shut your mouth" with a tone that clearly portrays her frustration without the rude language. Her choice of clean lyrics sounds promising for the contents of the rest of Breakaway.

Overall, Clarkson's refreshingly skilled voice and decent lyrics bring "Since U Been Gone" above the "mediocre" rating into the "pretty good" range, in my opinion, and the lack of any annoying layers to the music keep it there.

Lyrics: 4/5
Music: 3/5
Voice: 4/5
Overall: 7/10