Sony BMG
2009
All I Ever Wanted
About This Album
Thankfully, All I Ever Wanted is not Kelly Clarkson's atonement for insisting on releasing the dark, gothic rock record My December against the wishes of label boss Clive Davis in 2007 -- well, at least not entirely. All I Ever Wanted doesn't completely abandon the tougher rock edges of My December, but it does ditch the brooding in favor of angry spunk, all the better to prove that the girl who sang "Since U Been Gone" is back. And she is -- quite self-consciously on "My Life Would Suck Without You," the first track and first single on All I Ever Wanted, a song designed by Max Martin to be an explicit sequel to his "Since U Been Gone." It's effective, if a bit clinical, running contrary to Clarkson's greatest gift: her genuineness. My December might not have quite worked, but its messiness seemed an authentic reflection of a girl next door sorting through the aftermath of turning into an unexpected star and much of All I Ever Wanted is the opposite, attempting to run the most likeable pop star of the new millennium through the mill. Fortunately, it's possible to dampen Clarkson's spirit -- nobody could survive four Ryan Tedder collaborations without being brought down into his simpering murk -- but not to break it.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and 11)

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