Having listened to her albums again (and listen PbP on repeat) I'd probably rank them like this:
My December
Breakaway - I'd forgotten just how solid this album was, hit after hit. (Wrapped in Red)
Piece by Piece
Stronger
Thankful
All I Ever Wanted
All I Ever Wanted wasn't bad, it just rather bland, it's like something her record company made her release to get the people who didn't like My December back on board. It did give us My Life Would Suck Without You but that was about it. I don't think she's released a truly bad album, it just really depends on what kind of music you want/expect from her.
All I Ever Wanted wasn't bad, it just rather bland, it's like something her record company made her release to get the people who didn't like My December back on board. It did give us My Life Would Suck Without You but that was about it. I don't think she's released a truly bad album, it just really depends on what kind of music you want/expect from her.
Cry, is on that album and is my all time favourite (I'm probably in a tiny minority), there is a few pop fillers that I'm not keen on though but there are some crackers like Already Gone and If no one will listen
Thanful - Dreadful
Breakaway - Her masterpiece
My december - A mixed bag
All i ever wanted - Average
Stronger - Her second masterpiece
Piece by piece - Slightly above average.
I'm not one of these that feels the need to rank albums from an artist. But my views on her albums would be...
Thankful has some of my favourite ever Kelly songs - Low, Some Kind Of Miracle, Just Missed The Train and Beautiful Disaster. What's Up Lonely is a stinker, but I think it was a solid debut.
Breakaway is Breakaway. A great album. It would sound just as current if it was released now, a decade later, as it did then. It's crazy to think how on top of the world she was with this album.
My December is awesome. I think it's a great follow on from Breakaway, and I love that it is completely Kelly. Sober, Irvine and Maybe are favourites of mine, and I''m so glad she stuck to her guns and got it released as she wanted it.
All I Ever Wanted, as an album, is probably the one I listen to the least, but then I tend to listen to all of her songs on shuffle, so certain songs from that get listened to a lot (Ready, Impossible, Long Shot, Don't Let Me Stop You, Cry) I agree with the poster who said it was a more of a "get the general public back on board" kind of album, and she knew she had to go along with it.
Stronger is an excellent album. I was going to list the stand out tracks, but then realised I was listing nearly all of them! I'll name The War Is Over and The Sun Will Rise as my favourites.
Piece By Piece is probably the follow-up to My December, in that if MD shows how low she was at one time in her life, PBP shows how happy and content she now is. I adore this album. It's got a great mixture of anthemic songs (Invincible, Second Wind, I Had A Dream, War Paint) some great songs with a throw-back sound (Nostalgic, Bad Reputation) some beautiful ballads and slower songs (Tightrope, Run Run Run, Someone) and some different sounds for Kelly (Take You High, In The Blue) I know her first week predicted sales in the US are quite low compared to her usual first week sales, but she's still on course for number one there, and I really hope this album does well in the long hall. Invincible as a second single could really boost sales.
Also, Wrapped In Red is a wonderful Christmas album.
Breakaway - her true breakout album. Each track could have easily been a single at the time and would have proved to be a big hit.
Stronger - a strong, solid album. Her 2nd biggest album to date. Reminiscent to the breakaway album in terms of sound and direction. Plenty of hit songs such as let me down, honestly, you love me.
All I ever wanted - a different style for Kelly. Produced one of her strongest hits to date. Some other strong tracks on the album such as don't let me stop you, cry, all I ever wanted & if I can't have you.
My December - a good album, just a bit lacklustre compared to the other 3 albums above. Never again was a great single that should have been a much bigger hit though.
Thankful - average album, slightly weak in parts. Some songs didn't sound right for my liking and didn't really have a typical direction in sound.
Can't judge piece by piece until I've listened to it a few more times. I would say, by early judgement, it's on par with all I ever wanted for me.
Cry, is on that album and is my all time favourite (I'm probably in a tiny minority), there is a few pop fillers that I'm not keen on though but there are some crackers like Already Gone and If no one will listen
I LOVE CRY! think it shouldve been released instead of Already Gone like Kelly wanted although I do prefer the video edit of Already Gone as I think the actual song drags on forever
May as well join in with the whole ranking thing as I have every album.
Breakaway- Far and ahead the best album cohesively. Not one bad song on there in my opinion.
All I ever Wanted - Whilst there was a few filler songs towards the end of the album, Already gone, Cry, Save You and Don't let me stop you are some of my favorite Kelly songs. Plus I loved the bonus tracks too.
Stronger - Another great album, but as it was longer than the other albums there seemed to be a few songs I would skip. Really enjoyed Dark Side and the War Is over on this one.
Piece By Piece- After a few listens I think this ranks 4th on the list of Kelly's studio albums, I'm really liking Take me High, Heartbeat Song, Run, Run, Run and Someone, but I'm yet to really get into many of the others yet, they are all just nice songs. Don;t dislike any.
My December - I clearly don't fall into the category of this being the fan favourite that wasn't the commercial hit much like Blackout was, but for me is Britney's worst album that the fans seem to love. I really couldn't get into this album aside from Chivas/Irvine and Sober which thankfully for this album were sublime!
Thankful - Whilst I do like the songs on this album I don't listen to any of the songs on a regular basis at all so it automatically defaults last even though I probably like more songs generally on this album as a whole than My December.
Up againt some tough competition (Noel Gallagher, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran etc) she was the highest new entry at number six, making it her fifth top ten album over here. I'm happy with that.
Up againt some tough competition (Noel Gallagher, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran etc) she was the highest new entry at number six, making it her fifth top ten album over here. I'm happy with that.
Yay, totally deserves it. I think this is my favourite Kelly album. I actually like every song!
Yay, totally deserves it. I think this is my favourite Kelly album. I actually like every song!
Hopefully, with good single choices, it will do well in the long run. I've read that Good Goes The Bye may be the next single over here which, as much as I like the song, it seems a random choice for over here. Invincible should be the next world wide single, in my opinion.
I would be happy to have Good goes the bye as the next single (tho I think it's unlikely) as is one of two on the album that stick in my head on constant replay (other being In the blue). Invincible I don't really like at all, personally.
Okay so I've just discovered the Stronger album. Somehow it completely bypassed me when it was released and I never gave it a spin but I've been listening to it now for days now. Completely in love
Dance With Me has completely snuck up on me and is now one of my favourites.
Hopefully, with good single choices, it will do well in the long run. I've read that Good Goes The Bye may be the next single over here which, as much as I like the song, it seems a random choice for over here. Invincible should be the next world wide single, in my opinion.
Good Goes the Bye is OK by me, im hoping she tours Europe also
I bought Piece by Piece last weekend, and after a few listens I thought I would share my views.
The standout tracks for me are 'Take You High', 'Someone', 'Heartbeat Song' and 'Dance with Me'.
I agree with the earlier comments on the thread about the album perhaps being 3 or 4 tracks too long, but hey, I would rather have more than less.
Stronger was a better album in my opinion, but I like how Kelly has experimented on Piece by Piece with different sounds and production.
Imagine if Kelly had released Take You High as a lead single. I bet the DS reviewer would change their mind about all of her albums sticking to the same sound.
So far, I'd give this album 3.5/5 - with potential to increase on further listens
By any standards this is a pretty solid album and probably one of the most thematic from Kelly, aside from “Breakaway”. In terms of the theme and makeup, it’s similar to Taylor Swift’s latest effort, having a big pop number as the lead single, with the rest of the album being more mellow in tone. Some of the songs are reminiscent of an early Script album, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your feelings about them as a band. I notice this especially on “I Had a Dream” and “Let Your Tears Fall”.
Slightly confused by the reviews that state this album is not a progression, because for me, this is the most mature sounding album she’s released, the content lyrically is a departure from the heartbreak songs that frequent most of the other albums, and her sound sonically has mellowed and is more reserved. And her voice sounds fantastic.
Obviously “Heartbeat Song” is still in the vein of the pop rock tracks we are used to hearing but its lyrically a celebration, instead of a boy bashing anthem. And again, the sound has progressed to a more synthetic 80’s vibe, rather than pop rock guitar driven.
The standout tracks for me are “Good Goes the Bye”, “Piece by Piece”, “Dance With Me”, “Let Your Tears Fall”, and “Run, Run, Run”. Whilst Kelly sounds fantastic on “Invincible", I’d prefer it, if the tempo was faster. “Someone”, “Take You High”, “War Paint”, “Nostalgic”, “In the Blue” and “Second Wind” are all solid tracks. And to be honest I could see any of these tracks released as singles, but I think her best option is to cash in on John Legend’s popularity and release “Run, Run, Run”, possibly supported by a Britain’s Got Talent performance.
The only real dud on the album is “Tightrope”, which is dreadful. I’d easily take one of the bonus tracks “In the Blue” or “Second Wind” over that one.
In terms of ranking this album against her other outputs, as many have already said, “Breakaway” will always rank as her best album, there’s not a bad song on that album and the theme is completely coherent.
Although not as coherent in style as her other outputs I’d rank “All I Ever Wanted” next purely for the number of tracks I still enjoy from that album “My Life Would Suck Without You”, “Cry”, “Don’t Let Me Stop You”, “All I Ever Wanted”, “Save You”, “Ready”, “If No One Will Listen” are all pretty fantastic.
I would probably put “Piece by Piece” next as I think the songs have more longevity than those featured on “Stronger”, and whilst there are some fantastic songs on the latter, I rarely find myself listening to it, in it’s entirety.
“My December” would be next, which comes as a bit of a surprise as I loved this album when it was first released. Save for “Sober” and perhaps “Can I Have a Kiss?”, I rarely listen to any of the other songs. It’s very melancholy as an album and pretty much a hard listen to just have on rotation, you kind of need to be in the mood to embrace the darkness of it. Something which has irked me since it’s release too, is the weird sound production on all of the tracks. She sounds like she’s in an echoing room, or as though the album was recorded live, which makes a lot of the tracks sound like unfinished demos.
This then leaves “Thankful” as the the lowest ranking album, and let’s be honest, it pretty much a mess of styles, though “Miss Independent” and “Low” are standouts.
1. Heartbeat Song - 7/10 - I wasn't that keen on this song when I heard it the first couple of times but it has grown on me. Quite formulaic of a KC pop track. Inoffensive.
2. Invincible - 7/10 - Love Kelly's vocals on this track and think the collab with Sia was a good shout to bring out the best in her. I like it, don't love it. Think there are better choices for a single.
3. Someone - 8/10 - When the album starts getting good for me. Lyrically, you can tell how she has matured. Vocals are brilliant again. I liked the production and structure of the song.
4. Piece By Piece - 9/10 - Because of You part 2. I think I hear a different song to others as I hear her comparing her father and stepfather throughout, with the last chorus comparing her father to her husband. Either way, I think it shows how motherhood has been the making of Kelly. She seems so much more comfortable in her skin and strong enough to move on from the past and look forward to the future.
5. Run Run Run - 8/10 - Love their voices together. Think it is an inspired duet. My only wish is that the vocals on the final chorus weren't so overpowered by the music. I wish we'd heard their harmonies shine through more.
6. I Had A Dream - 8/10 - Kelly as we know and love her. Outspoken but in an intelligent way. One of my favourite lyrics on the album "spreading your legs instead of using your words" . Think this is another track inspired by River, Kelly's fear about the influences her daughter will have growing up.
7. Let Your Tears Fall - 9/10 - A bit of a personal one for me. The lyrics to this song really got to me at first listen. A strong and important message. Having lost a friend to suicide recently, this resonates in a massive way. Speak up and trust in the support of those who love you. I'd love this to be a massive single, it's a great message to get out there.
8. Tightrope - 7/10 - Pleasant enough and some great lyrics. Fails to go anywhere for me. Genuinely haven't much opinion on it.
9. War Paint - 8/10 - I really like this track. Could be a hit single. Not the kind of track I'd expect on a KC album but I think I like that about this record. She's not just stuck to the same kind of music, she's playing around with different sounds.
10. Dance With Me - 8/10 - Once you get over the cheesy opening lyrics, this is quite an uplifting song. I can even picture the video being a bit like the 'Stronger' video with different people all over the world sending in videos of flash mobs.
11. Nostalgic - 8.5/10 - I like the 80s influence to this song. Very pop for KC. Normally she has a rock or country edge but this is pure, unashamed pop!! One of the standout tracks.
12. Good Goes The Bye - 8/10 - A very easy-listening song. She does heartbreak so well, even when she's happy!! Quite 80s again, I can imagine this on a HAIM album for some reason.
13. Bad Reputation - 6/10 - The one I skip. Don't think I've listened to it twice. It's OK, just the worst on the album I think.
14. In The Blue - 7/10 - A nice song and I like the breathy vocals she sings in. Production seems a bit cheap.
15. Second Wind - 8/10 - Again, not what you'd expect from Kelly. I really like this one too. A great way to finish off the album.
OVERALL - 8/10 - I'd rank it third behind 'Breakaway' and 'My December'. A great record with only one filler song in my opinion.
After having listened to this practically non-stop since it came out, at the moment I'm thinking the following:
Heartbeat Song - 7/10 - I know most say this is one of the worst songs on the album, but I still really love it. Just a fun, happy, catchy pop song.
Invincible - 8/10 - Love it. Love her vocals, she really does sound invincible on it (excuse the pun) The whistle notes at the end are fabulous.
Someone - 9/10 - One of my favourites. I know she didn't write on it, but I believe her when she's singing it. I believe that she genuinely wishes that one crappy boyfriend she had well in life, despite being crappy. And that's what I love about Kelly. She can take these personal songs that she didn't write, but totally make you believe it's about her life.
Take You High - 7/10 - I do like it, it's just not a sound I would usually listen to. Kelly makes it work though.
Piece By Piece - 8/10 - One of three songs she wrote solely with Greg Kurstin, and I really think he gets the best out of her. God bless, Brandon Blackstock
Run Run Run - 8/10 - I love that she recorded this. I love John's voice on it. I love the guitar break near the end.
I Had A Dream 9/10 - The second of the songs with Greg Kurstin. I've not seen this get too much love from most, but I think it's amazing. Not many people can get away with criticising girls for sleeping their way to success, but Kelly can. I can hear the similarities to The Script, but I like them, so that makes me happy.
Let Your Tears Fall - 7/10 - It's growing on me. I do like the chorus and the message in the lyrics.
Tightrope - 10/10 - The third of her songs with Kurstin. I've seen this get a lot of negative feedback which is baffling to me. I think it's stunning, one of the best songs she has ever written. It really shows just how talented a song writer and lyricist she is. "You and I will fall in time eventually, or maybe we'll both die trying" is one of my favourite lyrics ever. Then the lyrics in the chorus are heartbreakingly brilliant, and her background vocals in the last chorus at the end are one of my favourite things she's ever sung. So simple, but they add a lovely touch. I adore this song.
War Paint - 8/10 - It took me a while to get into it, but now I love it. I like the different meanings you can take from it. I like the tribal sounds in it.
Dance With Me - 9/10 - another one that grew on me. I can't wait to hear this live.
Nostalgic - 10/10 - I think this is my favourite of the "anthems" on the album. It's nice to have a song about looking back fondly at a past relationship. I like the start, it's like she's flicking through radio stations and stopping on a song that brings back good memories. Another one I can't wait to hear live. IT HAS TO BE A SINGLE!!!!!!
Good Goes The Bye - 8/10 - different from the demo, and I can't work out which version is my favourite, but I like them both. I love the higher vocals in the last chorus.
Bad Reputation - 6.5/10 - sometimes I listen to it and love it, others I listen to it and can't get into it. I think it would have been better placed had it been on Stronger. It would have gone well with Hello and Alone. I love her vocals on it though.
In The Blue - 10/10 - Right now, this is my favourite song on the album. Perfection.
Second Wind - 9/10 - another I can't wait to hear live. Perfectly placed on the album, and is very relevant considering all the Katie Hopkins stuff and comments about her weight recently. I think she's well and truely caught her second wind!
Comments
My December
Breakaway - I'd forgotten just how solid this album was, hit after hit.
(Wrapped in Red)
Piece by Piece
Stronger
Thankful
All I Ever Wanted
All I Ever Wanted wasn't bad, it just rather bland, it's like something her record company made her release to get the people who didn't like My December back on board. It did give us My Life Would Suck Without You but that was about it. I don't think she's released a truly bad album, it just really depends on what kind of music you want/expect from her.
Cry, is on that album and is my all time favourite (I'm probably in a tiny minority), there is a few pop fillers that I'm not keen on though but there are some crackers like Already Gone and If no one will listen
Thanful - Dreadful
Breakaway - Her masterpiece
My december - A mixed bag
All i ever wanted - Average
Stronger - Her second masterpiece
Piece by piece - Slightly above average.
Thankful has some of my favourite ever Kelly songs - Low, Some Kind Of Miracle, Just Missed The Train and Beautiful Disaster. What's Up Lonely is a stinker, but I think it was a solid debut.
Breakaway is Breakaway. A great album. It would sound just as current if it was released now, a decade later, as it did then. It's crazy to think how on top of the world she was with this album.
My December is awesome. I think it's a great follow on from Breakaway, and I love that it is completely Kelly. Sober, Irvine and Maybe are favourites of mine, and I''m so glad she stuck to her guns and got it released as she wanted it.
All I Ever Wanted, as an album, is probably the one I listen to the least, but then I tend to listen to all of her songs on shuffle, so certain songs from that get listened to a lot (Ready, Impossible, Long Shot, Don't Let Me Stop You, Cry) I agree with the poster who said it was a more of a "get the general public back on board" kind of album, and she knew she had to go along with it.
Stronger is an excellent album. I was going to list the stand out tracks, but then realised I was listing nearly all of them! I'll name The War Is Over and The Sun Will Rise as my favourites.
Piece By Piece is probably the follow-up to My December, in that if MD shows how low she was at one time in her life, PBP shows how happy and content she now is. I adore this album. It's got a great mixture of anthemic songs (Invincible, Second Wind, I Had A Dream, War Paint) some great songs with a throw-back sound (Nostalgic, Bad Reputation) some beautiful ballads and slower songs (Tightrope, Run Run Run, Someone) and some different sounds for Kelly (Take You High, In The Blue) I know her first week predicted sales in the US are quite low compared to her usual first week sales, but she's still on course for number one there, and I really hope this album does well in the long hall. Invincible as a second single could really boost sales.
Also, Wrapped In Red is a wonderful Christmas album.
Stronger - a strong, solid album. Her 2nd biggest album to date. Reminiscent to the breakaway album in terms of sound and direction. Plenty of hit songs such as let me down, honestly, you love me.
All I ever wanted - a different style for Kelly. Produced one of her strongest hits to date. Some other strong tracks on the album such as don't let me stop you, cry, all I ever wanted & if I can't have you.
My December - a good album, just a bit lacklustre compared to the other 3 albums above. Never again was a great single that should have been a much bigger hit though.
Thankful - average album, slightly weak in parts. Some songs didn't sound right for my liking and didn't really have a typical direction in sound.
Can't judge piece by piece until I've listened to it a few more times. I would say, by early judgement, it's on par with all I ever wanted for me.
I LOVE CRY! think it shouldve been released instead of Already Gone like Kelly wanted although I do prefer the video edit of Already Gone as I think the actual song drags on forever
Breakaway- Far and ahead the best album cohesively. Not one bad song on there in my opinion.
All I ever Wanted - Whilst there was a few filler songs towards the end of the album, Already gone, Cry, Save You and Don't let me stop you are some of my favorite Kelly songs. Plus I loved the bonus tracks too.
Stronger - Another great album, but as it was longer than the other albums there seemed to be a few songs I would skip. Really enjoyed Dark Side and the War Is over on this one.
Piece By Piece- After a few listens I think this ranks 4th on the list of Kelly's studio albums, I'm really liking Take me High, Heartbeat Song, Run, Run, Run and Someone, but I'm yet to really get into many of the others yet, they are all just nice songs. Don;t dislike any.
My December - I clearly don't fall into the category of this being the fan favourite that wasn't the commercial hit much like Blackout was, but for me is Britney's worst album that the fans seem to love. I really couldn't get into this album aside from Chivas/Irvine and Sober which thankfully for this album were sublime!
Thankful - Whilst I do like the songs on this album I don't listen to any of the songs on a regular basis at all so it automatically defaults last even though I probably like more songs generally on this album as a whole than My December.
Yay, totally deserves it. I think this is my favourite Kelly album. I actually like every song!
Hopefully, with good single choices, it will do well in the long run. I've read that Good Goes The Bye may be the next single over here which, as much as I like the song, it seems a random choice for over here. Invincible should be the next world wide single, in my opinion.
Good Goes the Bye is OK by me, im hoping she tours Europe also
http://billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6495183/kelly-clarkson-third-no-1-album-on-billboard-200
Oh she will. She normally does the UK and Europe after she's done America so I imagine it'll be this winter.
The standout tracks for me are 'Take You High', 'Someone', 'Heartbeat Song' and 'Dance with Me'.
I agree with the earlier comments on the thread about the album perhaps being 3 or 4 tracks too long, but hey, I would rather have more than less.
Stronger was a better album in my opinion, but I like how Kelly has experimented on Piece by Piece with different sounds and production.
Imagine if Kelly had released Take You High as a lead single. I bet the DS reviewer would change their mind about all of her albums sticking to the same sound.
So far, I'd give this album 3.5/5 - with potential to increase on further listens
Slightly confused by the reviews that state this album is not a progression, because for me, this is the most mature sounding album she’s released, the content lyrically is a departure from the heartbreak songs that frequent most of the other albums, and her sound sonically has mellowed and is more reserved. And her voice sounds fantastic.
Obviously “Heartbeat Song” is still in the vein of the pop rock tracks we are used to hearing but its lyrically a celebration, instead of a boy bashing anthem. And again, the sound has progressed to a more synthetic 80’s vibe, rather than pop rock guitar driven.
The standout tracks for me are “Good Goes the Bye”, “Piece by Piece”, “Dance With Me”, “Let Your Tears Fall”, and “Run, Run, Run”. Whilst Kelly sounds fantastic on “Invincible", I’d prefer it, if the tempo was faster. “Someone”, “Take You High”, “War Paint”, “Nostalgic”, “In the Blue” and “Second Wind” are all solid tracks. And to be honest I could see any of these tracks released as singles, but I think her best option is to cash in on John Legend’s popularity and release “Run, Run, Run”, possibly supported by a Britain’s Got Talent performance.
The only real dud on the album is “Tightrope”, which is dreadful. I’d easily take one of the bonus tracks “In the Blue” or “Second Wind” over that one.
In terms of ranking this album against her other outputs, as many have already said, “Breakaway” will always rank as her best album, there’s not a bad song on that album and the theme is completely coherent.
Although not as coherent in style as her other outputs I’d rank “All I Ever Wanted” next purely for the number of tracks I still enjoy from that album “My Life Would Suck Without You”, “Cry”, “Don’t Let Me Stop You”, “All I Ever Wanted”, “Save You”, “Ready”, “If No One Will Listen” are all pretty fantastic.
I would probably put “Piece by Piece” next as I think the songs have more longevity than those featured on “Stronger”, and whilst there are some fantastic songs on the latter, I rarely find myself listening to it, in it’s entirety.
“My December” would be next, which comes as a bit of a surprise as I loved this album when it was first released. Save for “Sober” and perhaps “Can I Have a Kiss?”, I rarely listen to any of the other songs. It’s very melancholy as an album and pretty much a hard listen to just have on rotation, you kind of need to be in the mood to embrace the darkness of it. Something which has irked me since it’s release too, is the weird sound production on all of the tracks. She sounds like she’s in an echoing room, or as though the album was recorded live, which makes a lot of the tracks sound like unfinished demos.
This then leaves “Thankful” as the the lowest ranking album, and let’s be honest, it pretty much a mess of styles, though “Miss Independent” and “Low” are standouts.
2. Invincible - 7/10 - Love Kelly's vocals on this track and think the collab with Sia was a good shout to bring out the best in her. I like it, don't love it. Think there are better choices for a single.
3. Someone - 8/10 - When the album starts getting good for me. Lyrically, you can tell how she has matured. Vocals are brilliant again. I liked the production and structure of the song.
4. Piece By Piece - 9/10 - Because of You part 2. I think I hear a different song to others as I hear her comparing her father and stepfather throughout, with the last chorus comparing her father to her husband. Either way, I think it shows how motherhood has been the making of Kelly. She seems so much more comfortable in her skin and strong enough to move on from the past and look forward to the future.
5. Run Run Run - 8/10 - Love their voices together. Think it is an inspired duet. My only wish is that the vocals on the final chorus weren't so overpowered by the music. I wish we'd heard their harmonies shine through more.
6. I Had A Dream - 8/10 - Kelly as we know and love her. Outspoken but in an intelligent way. One of my favourite lyrics on the album "spreading your legs instead of using your words"
7. Let Your Tears Fall - 9/10 - A bit of a personal one for me. The lyrics to this song really got to me at first listen. A strong and important message. Having lost a friend to suicide recently, this resonates in a massive way. Speak up and trust in the support of those who love you. I'd love this to be a massive single, it's a great message to get out there.
8. Tightrope - 7/10 - Pleasant enough and some great lyrics. Fails to go anywhere for me. Genuinely haven't much opinion on it.
9. War Paint - 8/10 - I really like this track. Could be a hit single. Not the kind of track I'd expect on a KC album but I think I like that about this record. She's not just stuck to the same kind of music, she's playing around with different sounds.
10. Dance With Me - 8/10 - Once you get over the cheesy opening lyrics, this is quite an uplifting song. I can even picture the video being a bit like the 'Stronger' video with different people all over the world sending in videos of flash mobs.
11. Nostalgic - 8.5/10 - I like the 80s influence to this song. Very pop for KC. Normally she has a rock or country edge but this is pure, unashamed pop!! One of the standout tracks.
12. Good Goes The Bye - 8/10 - A very easy-listening song. She does heartbreak so well, even when she's happy!! Quite 80s again, I can imagine this on a HAIM album for some reason.
13. Bad Reputation - 6/10 - The one I skip. Don't think I've listened to it twice. It's OK, just the worst on the album I think.
14. In The Blue - 7/10 - A nice song and I like the breathy vocals she sings in. Production seems a bit cheap.
15. Second Wind - 8/10 - Again, not what you'd expect from Kelly. I really like this one too. A great way to finish off the album.
OVERALL - 8/10 - I'd rank it third behind 'Breakaway' and 'My December'. A great record with only one filler song in my opinion.
Heartbeat Song - 7/10 - I know most say this is one of the worst songs on the album, but I still really love it. Just a fun, happy, catchy pop song.
Invincible - 8/10 - Love it. Love her vocals, she really does sound invincible on it (excuse the pun) The whistle notes at the end are fabulous.
Someone - 9/10 - One of my favourites. I know she didn't write on it, but I believe her when she's singing it. I believe that she genuinely wishes that one crappy boyfriend she had well in life, despite being crappy. And that's what I love about Kelly. She can take these personal songs that she didn't write, but totally make you believe it's about her life.
Take You High - 7/10 - I do like it, it's just not a sound I would usually listen to. Kelly makes it work though.
Piece By Piece - 8/10 - One of three songs she wrote solely with Greg Kurstin, and I really think he gets the best out of her. God bless, Brandon Blackstock
Run Run Run - 8/10 - I love that she recorded this. I love John's voice on it. I love the guitar break near the end.
I Had A Dream 9/10 - The second of the songs with Greg Kurstin. I've not seen this get too much love from most, but I think it's amazing. Not many people can get away with criticising girls for sleeping their way to success, but Kelly can. I can hear the similarities to The Script, but I like them, so that makes me happy.
Let Your Tears Fall - 7/10 - It's growing on me. I do like the chorus and the message in the lyrics.
Tightrope - 10/10 - The third of her songs with Kurstin. I've seen this get a lot of negative feedback which is baffling to me. I think it's stunning, one of the best songs she has ever written. It really shows just how talented a song writer and lyricist she is. "You and I will fall in time eventually, or maybe we'll both die trying" is one of my favourite lyrics ever. Then the lyrics in the chorus are heartbreakingly brilliant, and her background vocals in the last chorus at the end are one of my favourite things she's ever sung. So simple, but they add a lovely touch. I adore this song.
War Paint - 8/10 - It took me a while to get into it, but now I love it. I like the different meanings you can take from it. I like the tribal sounds in it.
Dance With Me - 9/10 - another one that grew on me. I can't wait to hear this live.
Nostalgic - 10/10 - I think this is my favourite of the "anthems" on the album. It's nice to have a song about looking back fondly at a past relationship. I like the start, it's like she's flicking through radio stations and stopping on a song that brings back good memories. Another one I can't wait to hear live. IT HAS TO BE A SINGLE!!!!!!
Good Goes The Bye - 8/10 - different from the demo, and I can't work out which version is my favourite, but I like them both. I love the higher vocals in the last chorus.
Bad Reputation - 6.5/10 - sometimes I listen to it and love it, others I listen to it and can't get into it. I think it would have been better placed had it been on Stronger. It would have gone well with Hello and Alone. I love her vocals on it though.
In The Blue - 10/10 - Right now, this is my favourite song on the album. Perfection.
Second Wind - 9/10 - another I can't wait to hear live. Perfectly placed on the album, and is very relevant considering all the Katie Hopkins stuff and comments about her weight recently. I think she's well and truely caught her second wind!