Maps of Music

Chemistry (2023)

Where the lyrics of Chemistry take you, and where it was really made.

A divorce album whose singer says it is not all bad: she describes heartbreak and sadness alongside the happier moments.

Key places

Recording at The Listening Station (2023)

Recording site The Listening Station — The recording credits name The Listening Station in Universal City, California. This point sits at the city centre, so it does not show the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Off the Wall Studios, Nashville (2023)

Recording site Nashville — The recording credits name Off the Wall Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. This point sits at the city centre, so it does not show the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Ribcage, Los Angeles (2023)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — The recording credits name The Ribcage in Los Angeles, California. This point sits at the city centre, so it does not show the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Germano Studios, New York (2023)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The recording credits name Germano Studios in New York, New York. This point sits at the city centre, so it does not show the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Chemistry: tenth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson
• Released June 23, 2023, through Atlantic Records
• Produced by longtime collaborators Jason Halbert and Jesse Shatkin, with newcomers Erick Serna and Rachel Orscher
• First full-length studio album of original material since 2017's Meaning of Life
• Final release under Atlantic Records
• Features collaborations with Steve Martin and Sheila E.
• Clarkson says it illustrates the arc of an entire relationship, from beginning to end

Background

• Work on the follow-up to Meaning of Life began in 2019
• June 2020: Clarkson announced her divorce from husband Brandon Blackstock
• Clarkson said in a September 2022 Variety interview that she had been working on the album for two years
• Clarkson said she had written around sixty songs while going through the divorce
• Before the divorce, she described the album as if Breakaway and Stronger had a baby, and more like Meaning of Life

Recording

• Clarkson recorded most of the album in 2020
• Halbert and Shatkin returned as producers, joined by Serna and Orscher

Cover

• January 2023: Clarkson said during an Instagram live that she had just done the album photo shoot with Brian Bowen Smith

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born Kelly Brianne Clarkson on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Burleson, Texas.
• Won the first season of American Idol in 2002 and signed with RCA Records.
• Debut single "A Moment Like This" became the best-selling single of 2002 in the United States.
• Debut album Thankful (2003) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
• Breakaway (2004) became her most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century.
• Singles "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You" achieved major chart success; "Because of You" became her biggest single worldwide.
• Stronger (2011) won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2013 ceremony.
• Wrapped in Red (2013) became the best-selling holiday album of the year.
• Signed with Atlantic Records in 2015 and released Meaning of Life (2017), When Christmas Comes Around... (2021), and Chemistry (2023).
• Coached The Voice for multiple seasons and hosted The Kelly Clarkson Show from 2019.
• Has sold over 82 million records worldwide and received three Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics gave Chemistry positive reviews, praising Clarkson's voice and the album's emotional and sonic dexterity.
• Hanif Abdurraqib of The New Yorker wrote that the album preserves the aura of interpersonal intimacy Clarkson has built with audiences for two decades.
• Ilana Kaplan of Rolling Stone wrote that the record hinges on Clarkson's emotive vocals and soul-baring lyrics, making it her most vulnerable project since My December.
• Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times praised Clarkson's vocals and singled out the piano-driven ballad Lighthouse as one of the album's most impassioned vocal performances.
• Kate Solomon of i said the album ripples with sadness even at its most upbeat moments.
• Lucy Norris of Metro wrote that the album is a triumphant exploration of love.

Reappraisal

• Zoladz's review was less enthusiastic, saying the album feels like a missed opportunity for greater depth and boldness.
• John Murphy of MusicOMH gave the album four stars and called it a more than decent breakup album.

Records

• Metacritic: 70 out of 100, based on seven reviews
• Billboard 200: debuted at number 6 with 53,000 equivalent album units
• Top-selling physical album of the week in the United States
• Clarkson's ninth top-10 album in the United States
• Charted within the top 20 in Canada, Scotland, and the United States
• Nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Clarkson said she wrote around sixty songs while going through the divorce.
• The track High Road is an original song by the duo Jane Black; Rachel Orscher of Jane Black is the associate music producer for The Kelly Clarkson Show.
• Steve Martin plays banjo on I Hate Love, and the title of the track is used in a sarcastic manner.
• Sheila E. plays drums on the last song, That's Right.
• Clarkson's Las Vegas residency Chemistry: An Intimate Evening with Kelly Clarkson ran from July 28 to August 19, 2023, December 30–31, 2023, and February 9–10, 2024, at the Bakkt Theater.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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