Heartbeat Song (Kelly Clarkson song)
"Heartbeat Song" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece (2015). Written by Mitch Allan, Audra Mae, Kara DioGuardi, and Jason Evigan, the song is an uptempo synth-pop track produced by Greg Kurstin. Lyrically, it sings of meeting a person who restores someone's faith in love. Inspired by 1980s synthpop music, "Heartbeat Song" was released by RCA Records as the album's lead single on January 12, 2015.
"Heartbeat Song"
January 12, 2015
2014
Echo Recording Studio, Los Angeles, California
3:18
"Heartbeat Song" was released to a positive response from music critics, who complimented the song's production and praised Clarkson's decision to return to mainstream pop music. Other critics, however, noted the strong resemblance the song's melody bore to that of Jimmy Eat World's single "The Middle" (2001), which later allowed the band to be credited as additional songwriters.[1] Commercially, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 37 and has peaked at number 21, marking Clarkson's sixteenth top 40 hit on the chart. It also became her fifth song to top the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart and marked as her highest debut among her twenty career entries on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart. Internationally, it became a top ten hit single in Austria, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom while also becoming a top 20 hit in the national charts of the Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Slovakia and Sweden.
Directed by Marc Klasfeld, its accompanying music video features scenes of various downtrodden people and their process of finding love again. Clarkson premiered "Heartbeat Song" in a live televised performance on The Graham Norton Show in February 2015 and has performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and the fourteenth season of American Idol. The song was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[2]
Background and composition[edit]
Shortly after the release of her first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red (2013), Clarkson, despite her pregnancy, began to record material for her seventh studio album, with a target release date in 2014.[4] One of these tracks, "Heartbeat Song", is an uptempo[5] synthpop[6] track produced by Greg Kurstin.[7] Lyrically, the song sings of meeting a person who restores someone's faith in love.[8] Sonically, USA Today's Brian Mansfeld remarked that the record serves as sonic defibrillator, starting with a jolt of melody, its rhythms shifting a couple times before finally settling into its steady pulse;[9] while Idolator's Bradley Stern described its production as Top 40 radio-friendly and remarked that the track sees Clarkson's pulse raising while falling in love above kicky drums, guitars and hints of synths.
"Heartbeat Song" was written by Mitch Allan, Audra Mae, Kara DioGuardi, and Jason Evigan in a two-day session writing camp.[3] In an interview on Entertainment Tonight, Mae revealed that DioGuardi came up with the main idea and used it as the song's chorus, with everybody else contributing in.[3] After pitching the song to different artists, including Demi Lovato,[10] she later found out during the Christmas season that Clarkson had recorded it and planned to release the song as the album's lead single.[3]
Musically, the song is written in the key of G-flat major with a fast tempo of 149 beats per minute. It follows the chord progression G♭–B♭m7–E♭m–C♭, and Clarkson's vocals span from G♭3 to E♭5.[11]
Live performances[edit]
Clarkson premiered "Heartbeat Song" in a live televised performance on the British television programs The Graham Norton Show on February 20, 2015, and Loose Women on March 2, 2015.[44] She also performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 2, 2015, Good Morning America on March 3, 2015, iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 29, 2015, and on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, on April 3, 2015. On April 2, 2015, Clarkson performed the song on the fourteenth season of American Idol where she was also the guest mentor for the top 8 as part of the "Evening with Kelly Clarkson" week. Clarkson performed the song in a medley with "Since U Been Gone" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" on the season three finale of La Voix in Montreal on April 12, 2015. Additionally, Clarkson performed the song at the Summertime Ball hosted by Capital FM on June 6, 2015. In July 2015, Clarkson performed the song on Macy's 4th of July Spectacular on NBC.