Since U Been Gone
"Since U Been Gone" is a song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). The song, which was written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, was released as the lead single from Breakaway two weeks before the album was released. It is an uptempo pop rock and power pop power ballad that infuses electronic sounds with a mixture of a soft and loud pop rock sound. Martin originally wrote "Since U Been Gone" with Pink in mind, but she turned it down. It was then given to Hilary Duff, but she rejected the song because she could not reach its higher notes. The song was finally given to Clarkson after Clive Davis convinced the writers to give it to her. Clarkson decided to add heavier guitars and harder drums to the song after noticing that the demo had an obvious pop sound. Lyrically, the song is written from a woman's point of view where she expresses her sense of relief with the end of her troubled relationship.
This article is about a song recorded by Kelly Clarkson. For the 1970s rock song, see Since You Been Gone. For other works with similar titles, see Since You've Been Gone (disambiguation)."Since U Been Gone"
"Since U Been Gone" received positive reviews from music critics who considered the song to be the highlight of Breakaway. Critics also felt that it was one of the best pop songs in the last decade. Rolling Stone ranked it at number 482 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2010 and at number 93 in the revamped 2021 ranking, while Billboard ranked it as the fifth greatest pop song of all time. "Since U Been Gone" was a commercial success. In the United States, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It topped the US Pop 100 for six consecutive weeks and the US Pop Songs for seven consecutive weeks respectively. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over one million copies sold. "Since U Been Gone" was also a worldwide success, peaking in the top five in Austria, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It also peaked in the top ten in Norway, Germany, and Switzerland.
Clarkson performed "Since U Been Gone" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards and at the 2006 BRIT Awards. It has been included on the set-list of Clarkson's many tours. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Alex De Rakoff, which shows Clarkson ruining her ex-boyfriend's apartment. The music video was nominated for three awards in the 2005 MTV Music Awards, winning two out of the three awards namely Best Female Video and Best Pop Video. At the 48th Grammy Awards, the song won the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. "Since U Been Gone" was covered by many artists, notably the American rock band A Day to Remember, indie rocker Ted Leo as well as the Canadian indie rock band, Tokyo Police Club, and used in the musical & Juliet.
Composition[edit]
"Since U Been Gone" is a bubblegum[13] and indie rock-influenced[14] pop rock[15] and power pop[16] power ballad[17] written and produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke.[18] The song, which is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 132 beats per minute, is written in the key of G major.[19] Popdose staff noted that the song contains an "electronics-enhanced sheen" over "alt-rock's soft/loud dichotomy".[20] The song also incorporates ringing guitars with plaintive lyrics[21] and a huge chorus.[22] It has a chord progression of G-Am–Em–F, and Clarkson's vocal range in the song spans two octaves from the low note of G3 to the high note of G5.[19] Film Laureate of Blogcritics praised "Since U Been Gone" for its "high energy, vocally powered, pop/rock jam with a hook that is infectious".[23] The same opinion was echoed by Entertainment Weekly staff who thought that the song highlighted Clarkson's "sublime" vocals and praised the song for its "addictive" hook.[24] Dave Donnelly of Sputnikmusic compared the musical arrangements of "Since U Been Gone" to Clarkson's "Behind These Hazel Eyes". He opined that the two songs allow the melodies to represent themselves because the tight musical arrangements complement Clarkson's vocals.[25]
The song's narrative is in first person, from the point of view of a woman who is relieved with the end of her relationship.[26] Steve Lampiris of ZME Music lauded Clarkson's vocals as the heart of the song. He praised the way Clarkson sings the chorus, which implies that she was the one who ended the relationship. He also thought that the line "I can breathe for the first time/ I'm so moving on, yeah yeah" was believable "that either her ex is a total prick or she's deserves [sic] an Oscar nom."[27] In an interview with Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly, it was noted that Clarkson sang "So together but so broken up inside/ 'Cause I can't breathe" in "Behind These Hazel Eyes", but in "Since U Been Gone", she sang "But since you been gone/ I can breathe for the first time." When asked whether she was a bipolar asthmatic, Clarkson responded that "Behind These Hazel Eyes" is about a dipstick who is unhappy because she has completely screwed up, and "Since U Been Gone" is an expression of relief because her ex is now miserable.[28]
Response[edit]
Critical reception[edit]
The song received positive reviews upon its release. In his review for Breakaway, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of MSN considered "Since U Been Gone", "Walk Away", and "You Found Me" as the spine of the album. He added that the songs sound mainstream and youthful.[29] Rohin of Blogcritics gave a positive response to the song, emphasizing that "it is almost one of the best pieces of throwaway pop in recent history". He also thought that the song represents a song "that you can roll down the windows of your car and proudly headbang your way through a yellow light somewhere on a suburban side street."[30] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine thought that Clarkson did a good impression of Pat Benatar in "Since U Been Gone".[31] He concluded his review by emphasizing that Breakaway proves that Clarkson has successfully dodged the sophomore slump but "Since U Been Gone" helped her establish her success.[32] The staff of Slant Magazine later ranked "Since U Been Gone" at number thirteen in their list of Best Singles of the Aughts, writing that the song proves Clarkson's powerful ability as a vocalist as well as her versatility as an artist.[33]
Stephen Thompson of NPR Music called the song "one of the decade's finest pop anthems" which is infused with energy, charisma and full-throated intensity.[34] Steve Lampiris of ZME Music opined that the song is "one of very few perfect pop songs released in the last ten years," stating that it is hard to determine the principal reason that makes the song very successful.[27] Gary Trust of Billboard thought that "Since U Been Gone" is a defining song of the 2000s. He commented on its status as a blueprint for female pop songs, as seen in song productions by artists such as Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Pink.[35] In 2014, Ryan Kailath of NPR Music argued that the song succeeded by borrowing from musical trends that preceded it, such as 1990s R&B and alternative rock.[36] In 2015, Gary Trust of Billboard wrote that "Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone", co-written by Max Martin, especially helped lead to pure pop's reemergence, and the breakthroughs of Rihanna, Katy Perry, [Taylor] Swift and Lady Gaga would soon follow (as well as [Britney] Spears' own revival)", stating that the song "began to erode hip-hop's early '00s reign, with women at the forefront of turning the tide."[37]
Awards and recognition[edit]
At the 48th Grammy Awards, "Since U Been Gone" won the category of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[38][39] At the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, the song won the category of Choice Single.[40] It also won the award for Best Pop Sing-Along Song at the 2005 XM Nation Music Awards.[41] The song received a nomination in the category of Song of the Year: Mainstream Hit Radio at the 2005 Radio Music Awards[42] but lost to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together".[43] At the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, the song received nominations for two awards. It received a nomination for the Hot 100 Single of the Year but lost to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and for the Digital Song of the Year but lost to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl". In 2023, Billboard named "Since U Been Gone" the fifth-best pop song of all time, the highest-ranked song on the list from the 21st century.[44]
Chart performance[edit]
"Since U Been Gone" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 70 for the week ending December 18, 2004.[45] On its second week, the song moved to number 53,[46] before jumping to number 38 the following week.[47] During the week ending April 9, 2005, "Since U Been Gone" ascended to a new peak of number two on the Billboard Hot 100.[48] This made "Since U Been Gone" the first pop song by a solo female artist to reach the top two chart positions in 2005.[49] The song also became the first non-R&B/hip hop song by a solo female artist to reach top two on the chart since Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" hit number two in February 2003.[49] Fred Bronson of Billboard noted that had "Since U Been Gone" moved to number one, it would become the 41st chart-topper for the American Idol franchise.[49] The song stayed in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 20 weeks.[50] After the week ending March 26, 2005, the song topped the US Pop 100 for six consecutive weeks, through the week ending March 26, 2005.[51] It also spent seven consecutive weeks at number one on the US Pop Songs.[52] On the Billboard's Radio Songs chart, the song peaked at number four on April 23, 2005.[53] "Since U Been Gone" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 25, 2006.[54] As of September 2017, "Since U Been Gone" has sold 2,973,000 paid digital downloads.[55]
Internationally, "Since U Been Gone" was a commercial success. In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number three on February 13, 2005.[56] It was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of over 70,000 units.[57] In New Zealand, Since U Been Gone debuted at number 18 on the week ending March 21, 2005. Three weeks later, it peaked at number 11 and matched that position for three non-consecutive weeks.[58] On July 16, 2005, "Since U Been Gone" debuted and peaked at number five in the United Kingdom,[59] and as of April 2023, the song sold over 1,200,000 copies there.[60] In Ireland, it entered the Irish Singles Chart at number eight on the week ending July 7, 2005[61] and peaked at number four three weeks later.[62] Elsewhere in Europe, the song was also a success; it peaked at number three in Austria,[63] number seven in Switzerland,[64] number nine in Norway,[65] number 10 in the Netherlands,[66] and number 16 in Sweden.[67]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
The music video for "Since U Been Gone" was directed by Alex De Rakoff and filmed in early November 2004.[68] Clarkson told MTV that she conceived the idea of the video after assuming that revenge is what every girl wants to do when their boyfriend cheats on them. She added, "You know, 'Why don't I just go trash her house? [...] And so I do it in the video. All I do is break stuff. It's a cool job. I could get used to this."[6] Clarkson expressed that in the music video, viewers would get to see her act out of character. She explained, "In the beginning, I'm like tipping things over and smearing mud all over the walls and it seems like my apartment, but it ends up being the other girl's that he's with, so it's a humorous video."[6] The music video premiered on Total Request Live on November 16, 2004.[6]
Synopsis[edit]
The music video begins with Clarkson sitting on a couch in an apartment's living room, holding a heart-shaped locket in her hand. The next scene shows Clarkson in the bathroom where she fixes her face in the mirror, she opens the medicine cabinet and tossing all the pills in the medicine cabinet over her shoulder and messing all the bathroom items on the floor, squirting the toothpaste into the sink. When she gets to a container of birth control pills, she turns on the water in the sink, snaps the pills out, and drops them down the drain. Clarkson then starts to take other items; she throws a container of makeup powder spray in the air and smears a container of facial mud mask on the wall. During the chorus, Clarkson and her band perform the song for a dancing crowd in a club. After the first chorus, Clarkson walks into a room full of closets. She cuts up dresses, rifling through the closets and pulling out clothes, destroying them and singing in a pile of them. After the second chorus, she walks into a bedroom and begins to tear the pillow on the bed, filling the room with feathers. The scenes of Clarkson singing with her band then alternate with a montage of her destroying the apartment, breaks the glass window from the door, breaks the vase, television, clock, fridge, lights, microwave, phone, furniture, and chair. Later, Clarkson takes a framed photo of her ex-boyfriend with another girl in the living room, before pushing a tall CD rack over. She then smashes the framed photo through a glass table, breaking it in half. Having decimated the apartment, Clarkson walks out the door and down the hallway with a hat on her head, just as her ex-boyfriend appears with his girlfriend, walking arm in arm. Clarkson hides her face as she walks away from them. The final scene shows the couple seeing their damaged apartment in shock and the scene of the locket swinging.[68]
Reception and accolades[edit]
Stephen Thompson of NPR Music was disappointed with the music video because it "undercuts its message to an alarming degree: The words say 'Since you've been gone / I can breathe for the first time,' but the pictures say, 'Breaking up with you necessitates destroying all of your property.'"[34] On the other hand, Johnni Macke of E! felt the video was amusing and Clarkson was "at her rocker prime." She added, "It features the tomboy side of the singer messing up her ex's closet, destroying his bed and getting some major revenge by destroying his place."[69] At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video received nominations for three awards; it won Best Female Video and Best Pop Video,[70] and received a nomination for the Viewer's Choice Awards but lost to Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".[71][72] MusicOMH ranked the music video as the 86th best video of the last decade.[73] In February 2012, the music video received a Pop-Up Video treatment by VH1 which shows "pops up" bubbles containing trivia, witticisms and borderline sexual innuendos throughout the video.[74]
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Breakaway.[139]
Recording
Personnel