“Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson
In the lyrics of “Because of You”, we see Kelly Clarkson express her fear of losing the people she loves because she has had a first-hand experience of a failed relationship.
The song was written by a 16 year old Kelly as a reflection of the impact her parents’ divorce had on her when she was 6.
Due to the experience, she becomes more conscious and careful not to let herself commit similar mistakes and suffer the way her parents did. She believes she has learnt a lot of lessons from her childhood events and as such will be mindful to keep herself from being hurt. She also confesses the negative implications of the divorce which is that she is unable to trust other people because she is scared they might break her heart.
The singer recalls her childhood as a tough one where she could not even be emotional as a child because she did not want to hurt the only parent she was living with. She further describes that though she still feels hurt, she has had to put on fake smiles for years just to get by.
Perhaps the most hurtful event for a 6 year old was to see her parent suffer emotionally and cry every night in pain, while leaning on her for all the comfort. She further blames both parents for being selfish and not considering how she might have felt about their divorce. Kelly ends by stating that she has been emotionally damaged because of this and has to continue being overprotective of herself just to avoid feeling hurt by someone else.
Who plays the younger version of Kelly Clarkson in the music video?
The young Clarkson you see in the song’s video was played by an actress named Kennedy Nöel.
Writing Credits for “Because of You”
Clarkson wrote “Because of You” along with Evanescence members Ben Moody and David Hodges. Like was mentioned above, Clarkson first composed this emotional song when she was only just 16. She wrote it while trying to cope with the sadness brought on by the divorce of her parents. Several years later, she worked with the aforementioned Evanescence members to better the song.
In addition to contributing writing to “Because of You” Moody and Hodges also acted as its official producers.
It’s noteworthy to state that Clarkson reportedly wrote the lyrics within just 25 minutes
Release Date of “Because of You”
Through RCA Records, Clarkson released “Because of You” on 16th August, 2005. It was the third single Clarkson released from her second studio album named “Breakaway”.
A Song laden with Sadness
This piano ballad is so sad that Clarkson once referred to it as her most depressing song.
Notable Live Performance of “Because of You”
Below is one Kelly Clarkson’s most famous live performances of this great song of hers. The performance below took place at the Grammy Awards of 2006.
Performance on the Charts
“Because of You” was a major hit single for Clarkson. It reached the 7th spot on both America’s Hot 100 and Britain’s UK Singles Chart. Furthermore, it peaked at 1st spot in the following countries:
- Brazil
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- The Netherlands
Simply put, this ballad is one of the most successful singles of Clarkson’s entire career!
Did “Because of You” win a Grammy?
The ballad was nominated for a Grammy at 2008’s Grammy Awards. It was nominated in the category of “Best Country Collaboration with Vocals”. However, it lost the award to Willie Nelson’s “Lost Highway”.
That said, its album “Breakaway” won Clarkson a Grammy in the category of the “Best Pop Vocal Album”.
It should be noted that the version of “Because of You” that received a Grammy nomination wasn’t Clarkson’s original version. This version was a duet between country legend Reba McEntire and Clarkson. This duet was released as a single in 2007. It was actually the lead single McEntire’s management released from her 2007 album titled “Reba: Duets”. This duet went on to become one of the most successful versions/covers of the song.
