MY DECEMBER - KELLY CLARKSON
Despite the tabloid drama surrounding “My December,” what counts here is, Are there hits? The vinegar-and-pissed-off “Never Again,” while a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit on download sales, got a hasty brush-off from top 40. The reflective but equally fretful “Sober” is just hitting radio, with the jury out. On the whole, “My December” is melodically, instrumentally and lyrically combative — a far cry from America’s embraceable sweetheart. The uptempo “One Minute” is among the only playful cuts, with its rapid-fire give-and-take verses, while “Be Still” and “Maybe” offer acoustic relief from the onslaught more than halfway through the set. “My December” is hardly a scorecard of top 40 hits, but it does demonstrate an artist eager to spread wings and search for her own voice against what Clarkson asserts was a heavy corporate hand in previous efforts. Billboard
