Kelly Clarkson: My December Album Review

 Kelly Clarkson is one of the most successful artists around as well as one of the most successful people to do "American Idol".  Today I'll be reviewing her third album, "My December".  This album caused some controversy because it was more rock and darker than her previous album.  On top of that she had to fight with her label to get it released.  Her label at one point even wanted her to scrap 5 songs and record 5 radio friendly sons, one of which was "Black Hole", a song originally recorded by Lindsay Lohan.  Kelly refused to do that though, but there are rumors that her label tried to do the same with Avril Lavigne's "Goodbye Lullaby" except they asked her to take 2 songs off and replace them.  That would explain why "What the Hell" and "Smile" were on the record and why "Gone" and "Fine" weren't.  But that's a different story!  Anyway here's my track by track review:

1) Never Again: The first single from the album.  While the song was hit, it didn't get much airplay.  In fact the song charted mainly because of downloads.  In the video Kelly's boyfriend tries to drown her so he can be with the woman he's having an affair with.  He keeps thinking he sees her ghost haunting him.  By the end of the video it's shown that Kelly didn't drown and the man had been dreaming but Kelly leaves him.  10/10

2) One Minute: The second from the album in Australia and the third single overall.  This song was supposed to be on "Breakaway" but it didn't make the cut.  It was then reworked for this album.  I love this song and wish it was released in the U.S.  The video was just a live performance of the song.  10/10

3) Hole: Awesome guitar solo in the beginning.  The chorus is what made me a fan of this song and I think it's about when everything just hitting you at once and it's hard to deal with it.  9/10

4) Sober: The second and final single in the U.S. as well the second overall single.  I keep thinking the song is called "3 Months" because that's what's sung the most.  While the song didn't have a video and didn't do well on the charts, it's still a ballad that is amazing.  Wish it got the attention it deserved.  10/10

5) Don't Waste Your Time: The third single in Australia and the overall fourth and final single from the album.  The video is basically a darker version of "Sleeping Beauty".  It's a great video and the song very relatable.  10/10

6) Judas: No this a cover of that Lady Gaga song with the same name.  This song first, about four years before her's song came out.  Anyway this song was almost a single but Kelly wasn't sure about releasing it because it was too personal.  This song is about betrayal and it's a song I can relate to a little too well.  10/10

7) Haunted: This song is my favorite on the album.  Websites have said that the song is about a friend of Kelly's who committed suicide.  Now I'm glad it wasn't a single because this song would've been hard to promote.  It also feels like a song Evanescence would've sung.  10/10

8) Be Still: A slow song that's vocally amazing but it reminds me too much of "Sober".  7/10

9) Maybe: This song starts slow but becomes a little more upbeat later on.  I don't listen to it as much but I'll try to after this review.  7/10

10) How I Feel: This song feels out of place ob this album.  It's the most pop sounding song on the album.  I'm also confused why it wasn't a single.  8/10

11) Yeah: Instrumentals, great.  Lyrics, okay.  Overall song, strange.  5/10

12) Can I Have a Kiss: It starts off slow and acoustic but later picks up.  That being said it's not very memorable.  6/10

13) Irvine/Chivas: "Irvine" is a beautiful acoustic song that is vocally amazing but overall kinda boring.  "Chivas" is a hidden track played after "Irvine".  It's pretty good but the title is a little strange.  6/10

 While it didn't get the promotion it deserved, "My December" is still an amazing album.  That being said, I still wish she released a cover of Lindsay Lohan's "Black Hole".  My favorite songs on the album are: "Haunted", "One Minute", "Don't Waste Your Time", "Never Again", "Sober" and "Hole".  Out of 130 points I give the album 108 points which is 83%, a B.  Awesome!