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Thankful (Kelly Clarkson album)
2003 studio album by Kelly Clarkson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Thankful is the debut studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released in the United States by RCA Records on April 15, 2003. "Miss Independent" was its first single, followed by "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is". Initially, the album had been scheduled to be released in November 2002, however, Clarkson's demanding schedule and difficulty finding tracks that suited her taste and image forced the album to be delayed several times.[5] By the time the album was released, over six months had elapsed since "A Moment Like This" had reached number one.
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The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 selling 297,000 copies. "Miss Independent" went on to be a top ten hit in the United States. Thankful has sold 2,800,000 copies in the United States, receiving a 2× platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[6] In Canada, Thankful was certified platinum for 100,000 copies shipped by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).[7]
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Background
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Clarkson co-wrote four of the 12 tracks included on the final album.[8] In total, 15 other songwriters are credited on the album.[9] Two songs originally on the album, "Trace of Gold" and "Today for Me", written by Stephanie Saraco, were replaced just before the album release by "Anytime" and "A Moment Like This". Early released versions of the CD still show the original tracks on players that read the data from the CD itself (such as Windows Media Player). The two songs have yet to be heard by the general public. Copies of Thankful sold during its first year of release contained a computer program that could be loaded, and used with the internet for artist updates and music videos. The program ceased to function when her official RCA website was launched. Thankful included four cover tracks, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" originally by Aretha Franklin, "Some Kind of Miracle" originally sung by Puff Johnson, "Anytime" by Mary Griffin and "Just Missed the Train" by Trine Rein. "Just Missed the Train" was previously covered by Danielle Brisebois and Carly Smithson (then Carly Hennessy), who worked on much of her album with Brisebois, and would ironically become an American Idol finalist herself six seasons later.
In addition to pop, the album explored genres such R&B and gospel.[10] Rome Neal of CBS News called it a combination of gospel songs, ballads and a little bit of rock 'n' roll.[11]
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Critical reception
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Critical reception towards Thankful was generally positive.[19][20] Critics agreed on Clarkson's talent as a vocalist but found the album's musical direction to be heavily manufactured and overproduced.[9] On Metacritic, a website that compiles various reviews, the album received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews.[13] Entertainment Weekly noted that "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades".[14] Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, praising Clarkson's talent and vocal abilities, while criticizing the album for feeling manufactured. They note that "[her] high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her American Idol overlords".[16]
On the other hand, Q gave the album a very negative review, stating that the album "has her trilling like Mariah Carey on fluffy R&B tunes."[13]
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Commercial performance
Release of the album was preceded by the single "Miss Independent", which became a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit and a number one top 40 smash. In thanks to the success of the single, as well as buzz from her American Idol win (Clarkson also appeared several times on the show's second season to promote Thankful), the album sold well in the United States. It managed to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with 297,000 copies sold. The album sold over 1 million copies in six weeks.[21] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Thankful has sold 2,800,000 copies to date in the US.[6] Further single releases "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is" did not replicate the success of the first single. "Just Missed the Train" and "You Thought Wrong" had been planned for possible single releases, but after the underperformance of "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is", they were canceled.[22]
Impact and legacy
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Despite its success and launching Clarkson's career outside of American Idol, some musicians and music critics dismissed her early success as being exclusively reliant on the television program's popularity,[23] and saw her as having little potential longevity as a pop star in the industry.[9][24] Unconvinced that she was more than a reality television creation,[25] some journalists such as Josh Tyrangiel felt that the album's broad appeal limited its impact and failed to strengthen Clarkson's creative standing with her label or her management.[26] For subsequent music releases, beginning with her second studio album Breakaway (2004), Clarkson demanded more creative control over her projects, including co-writing some of its songs and adopting an "edgier", more rock-leaning musical direction.[26][24][27] Some critics deemed Breakaway Clarkson's opportunity to prove her legitimacy as an artist again.[24][28] Melody Lau of HuffPost Canada said it was only through Breakaway that Clarkson would finally embrace the "Miss Independent" persona she wanted to be known for.[9]
Preston Jones of the Dallas Observer said the success of Clarkson's debut is one of the album's that "represent the apex of Idol’s commercial success, as well as the formidable grip the televised singing competition industry had on the charts in the early aughts".[8] In 2023, Jones said that unlike some of her fellow alumnae, Clarkson managed to establish a career for herself "based more on their own skills than by any association with American Idol", and in retrospect Thankful "illuminates the path Clarkson would spend the next two decades walking".[8]
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Track listing
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Personnel
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Musicians
Strings (Tracks 1 & 5)
Strings and French horn on "Before Your Love"
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Production
Technical
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Charts and certifications
Certifications
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Release history
References
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