Miss Independent (Kelly Clarkson song)

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"Miss Independent"
Single by Kelly Clarkson
from the album Thankful
B-side
ReleasedApril 10, 2003 (2003-04-10)[1]
Recorded2002
StudioSound Gallery (Los Angeles, California)
GenrePop
Length3:35
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rhett Lawrence
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology
"Before Your Love" / "A Moment Like This"
(2002) 		"Miss Independent"
(2003) 		"Low"
(2003)
Music video
"Miss Independent" on
YouTube

"Miss Independent" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her debut studio album, Thankful (2003). Written by Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Rhett Lawrence, and Matt Morris, with Lawrence serving as producer, it was released as the album's lead single by RCA Records on April 10, 2003, preceding its release by five days. The track was initially intended for Aguilera's fourth album, Stripped (2002), but was left half-finished. Lawrence later continued writing the song with Clarkson, who eventually recorded it.

"Miss Independent" is a

46th Grammy Awards
in 2004.

The song's commercial success helped in presenting Clarkson's "

second season of American Idol, and has included it in set lists
in most of her concert tours.

Background and release

The song was originally intended for Christina Aguilera, but was passed to Clarkson without either singer's knowledge.[2]

American record producer

The Trouble With Love Is
", "You Thought Wrong", and the title track "Thankful".

There are conflicting reports of how the song was given to Clarkson. Davis said in his 2013 autobiography The Soundtrack of My Life that it was Lawrence who passed the track without Aguilera's knowledge or approval.[2] Clarkson—who was unaware of Aguilera or Morris' involvement until receiving the liner notes for Thankful—stated it was an A&R manager, who purposefully kept the information from her so she would not turn down the song; she said this to be the first example of "how people flat out lie or omit", and that what bothered her was that she had given interviews which made it look like she had written the song solely with Lawrence.[6] Clarkson also claimed to Bournemouth Daily Echo that RCA did not want the song on the album, and she argued with the label "to the point of literally crying" to get the song on the record.[7] In The Soundtrack of My Life, Davis claimed that although Aguilera had decided not to use the song, she was "distinctly miffed" Lawrence passed on the song without her knowledge, and only subsided when both "Miss Independent" and Aguilera's own song "Beautiful" were both nominated Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and "Beautiful" won.[2] Though Davis says Aguilera was mad at Clarkson, Aguilera had earlier clarified she was not, and on Total Request Live, said the song was "a good choice for her... If the song was to go to anyone, I'm glad it went to you because you gave it justice."[8]

"Miss Independent" was released to

12-inch single, and a digital download on September 23. In the United Kingdom, the song was released as a CD single on August 25; a maxi single was released in Austria and Germany by BMG on August 12. Most of the singles contained Clarkson's renditions of the songs "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", which was included on Thankful, and "Respect".[9] In 2009, the song was made available for purchase as downloadable content for the Rock Band, Rock Band 2, and Lego Rock Band video games.[10]

Composition

"Miss Independent"
A 23-second sample of "Miss Independent, highlighting the musical composition.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Miss Independent" is a funk and R&B-influenced pop song.[11][12][2] Katherine St. Asaph of Popdust noted that "it's the closest Kelly Clarkson's come to R&B."[13] Clarkson said that Aguilera's rhythmic style heavily influenced the song. She remarked, "You can hear a lot of her influence in 'Miss Independent', especially the hook. And once you hear the song, it's constantly in your head. Believe me, I cannot get it out!"[14] Rachell Kipp of the Associated Press wrote that "Miss Independent" "sounds like a half-baked remake of Aguilera's 'Dirrty' (2002)"[15] The song has a length of three minutes and 35 seconds and is written in the key of B minor, Clarkson's vocal range spans from F♯3 to F♯5.[16]

The lyrics tells the story of an independent woman who was apprehensive about being in a relationship in fears of being rejected, she finally allows herself to break her emotional and communication barriers when she begins to fall in love. Clarkson revealed that she finds herself similar to the titular "Miss Independent". She said, "It's very funny when the song came into play with me ... 'cause at that certain time of my life, I was actually going through that kind of thing," Clarkson said. "I've always been real guarded about work and career. It wasn't even with, like, guy relationships, it was just, like, friends and just letting people in, you know? And so it was kinda weird 'cause I was going through that same thing at the same time, so it was very easy for me to write the bridge to the song."[17]

Critical reception

"Miss Independent" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, who lauded Clarkson for distancing herself from her American Idol persona, but criticized the song's resemblance to some of the songs on Stripped—particularly "

Adult Contemporary goo of songs like 'Anytime' and 'A Moment Like This'. Cinquemani also added, "'Miss Independent' is no 'Dirrty', but it proves that if anyone can out-sing Aguilera, it's Clarkson".[21] On March 5, 2013, Billboard ranked the song number sixteen in its list of "Top 100 American Idol Hits of All Time".[22]

Howard Cohen of

2004 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Aguilera's "Beautiful".[24] It was also nominated for Choice Summer Song at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards
.

Commercial performance

"Miss Independent" debuted at the

R&B and rhythmic stations than pop stations. As of September 2017, "Miss Independent" has sold over 1,035,000 digital downloads in the United States.[32] It was certified Gold by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2006.[33]

Internationally, the song also became a commercial success, becoming Clarkson's first single to chart outside of North America. In Australia, it debuted on the

UK Singles Chart in August 2003. It the Netherlands, the song debuted on the Dutch Top 40
at number 27, eventually peaking at number nine. The song also charted in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was filmed in Los Angeles by Liz Friedlander, who didn't know Clarkson at the time. Friedlander remarked, "Honestly, I never watched American Idol, so I didn't have a preconceived notion of her." She said about the video, "The song is explosive and young and has some cool electronic beats, so we took the visual style from the music."[17] Clarkson added "It's gonna be more Kelly Clarkson the artist, not [Kelly Clarkson] from 'American Idol."[17] The video features Clarkson performing at a house party in reverse, starting from the morning after and working its way back to the previous night, where she appears attracted to a "surfer" whom she keeps seeing in mirrors. Friedlander adds, "And in the end — maybe — they get together."[17] It premiered on MTV on June 2, 2003.[36] The video received three nominations at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards—Best New Artist in a Video, Best Pop Video, and Viewer's Choice Award.[37]

Live performances

Clarkson premiered "Miss Independent" on the

set lists on tour, even naming her first co-headlining tour, the Independent Tour (2004, after the song.[39] In 2012, she performed a medley of her songs at the 40th Anniversary American Music Awards, beginning with "Miss Independent", continuing to "Since U Been Gone", "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", and "Catch My Breath".[40]

Formats and track listing

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Miss Independent"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[67] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[68] Gold 1,035,000[32]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Miss Independent"
Region Date Format Label Catalog Ref.
United States April 10, 2003
Mainstream radio
 RCA — [1]
May 25, 2003 CD single 82876-55924-2 [42]
Australia August 4, 2003 BMG 82876 548722 [69]
Austria August 12, 2003 Maxi single 82876-54872-2 [43]
Germany [43]
United Kingdom August 25, 2003 CD single 82876-55364-1 [70]
United States September 23, 2003
12-inch single
 RCA RDAB 54626 [41]
7-inch single
 82876-56533-7 [44]
Digital download — [46]

See also

  • List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2003 (U.S.)

References

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