Meaning of Life (album)
Meaning of Life is the eighth studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It was released on October 27, 2017, by Atlantic Records. Executive produced by Clarkson and Craig Kallman, the album is her debut release for the label after completing her recording contract and leaving previous label, RCA Records, which she had signed after winning the first season of American Idol. Weary of the structure of the previous record deal where she was strictly limited to releasing pop music, Clarkson wanted to pursue a different genre—soul and R&B music, which she had previously wanted to make and had only finally found the opportunity to do so after being signed by Kallman to the label.
For other similarly titled albums, see Meaning of Life (disambiguation).Meaning of Life
October 27, 2017
2017
- A Studios
- Capitol Studios
- Echo Studio
- Glenwood Place Studios
- Mac and Milo's Den
- Mick Schultz Studios
- MilkBoy the Studio
- Ocean Way Studios
- The Ribcage
- Historic RCA Studio A
- St. Izzy's of the East
- Starstruck Studios
- Vox Recording
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Meaning of Life is Clarkson's second foray into soul and R&B music, after her debut single "Miss Independent", departing from the predominant pop and pop rock sound established from her previous studio releases and returning to her multi-genre performances on American Idol. Inspired by the music of the 1990s and prominent singers Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, En Vogue and Bonnie Raitt, Clarkson wanted the album to evoke a music similar to the early works of those artists—with the overall goal of emoting a "soulful" spirit. To achieve this, Clarkson commissioned several collaborators—from previous associates Jesse Shatkin, Greg Kurstin, Mozella and Jason Halbert, to new project partners The Monarch, Mick Schultz, Harlœ and James Morrison. The album's tracks share a cohesive theme of interpersonal connections in life, centered on the subjects of love and living the moment.
Meaning of Life received a generally positive response from music critics, who commended Clarkson's newfound confidence and the cohesiveness of the album. Commercially, the record became her eighth consecutive studio album to debut in the top three of the Billboard 200 chart. Three singles were released to promote the album: "Love So Soft", "I Don't Think About You", and "Heat", the first and last of which topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Meaning of Life received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance for "Love So Soft" at the 60th and 61st ceremony. Its supporting concert tour of the same name visited various arenas throughout the United States between January and March 2019.
Background[edit]
After releasing her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece (2015), along with its companion remix album in 2016, Kelly Clarkson had completed the terms of her recording contract with RCA Records and 19 Recordings which she had signed as a prize after winning the inaugural season of American Idol in 2002.[1][2][3] As opposed to the previous contract structure where 19 held the phonographic rights to the master recordings,[A] RCA executives Peter Edge and Tom Corson revealed their intentions to sign Clarkson directly to the label without 19's involvement. Their renewal offer would include a three-album deal with a US$1 million advance per album,[1] in contrast to the six-album limit[B] from the previous contract with a US$500,000 incentive per record.[8] Corson also admitted that her relationship with Sony Music executive Clive Davis might prove to be a nuance to the offer.[2]
Despite remarking that her relationship with Edge and Corson on the label had proved to be successful,[9] Clarkson had second thoughts about renewing the contract, which she recalled as an "arranged marriage".[10] As a result, her management met with Warner Music Nashville executive John Esposito, who brokered a meeting with Atlantic Records executives Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald, who in turn offered her a long-term worldwide deal with a larger creative freedom.[11][12] On June 24, 2016, Warner Music Group announced that Clarkson had signed a long-term worldwide recording contract with Atlantic and would immediately work on a soul and R&B album set to be released the following year.[10] The move to Atlantic also reunited her with Pete Ganbarg, who had previously did A&R work for her fourth studio album All I Ever Wanted (2009). Later that year, Kallman and Ganbarg, who was producing A&R work on a mixtape inspired by the Broadway musical Hamilton, invited Clarkson to record the musical number "It's Quiet Uptown" for the mixtape, making it her debut appearance on an Atlantic record.[13]
Commercial performance[edit]
Meaning of Life debuted on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States at number two with 79,000 album-equivalent units, which account 68,000 copies in traditional album sales.[96][97] The album's chart debut on the Billboard 200 earned Clarkson her eighth consecutive top three studio album as well her third record to debut at the second spot.[98] Meaning of Life also debuted at the top of the Billboard Digital Albums chart and became her first entry on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart.[99][100] Overseas, the album entered the top ten of the Billboard Canadian Albums chart and the Australian ARIA Albums Chart.[101][102] It also attained a top twenty debut on the Official UK Albums Chart, the Irish IRMA Artist Albums Chart, and the Swiss Hitparade chart;[103][104][105] and a top forty entry on the national charts of Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands.[106][107][108] The album received a RIAA Gold certification in 2021, selling 500,000 equivalent units in the US.[109]
Notes