Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted

The moniker "return of KC", as this is being dubbed, is lost on me. I was actually a big fan of My December- as dark and loud as it was. So, as the cover suggests, Kelly gets back to the light bright side of town and sings more upbeat songs. The first single "My Life Would Suck Without You" is a shameless copy of "Since U Been Gone", but is still good enough. "I Do Not Hook Up" would be a better example of a familiar sound to Kelly-ites while not being so samey-same.

The highlight times-ten, though, is the punk-pop perfection of "Whyyawannabringmedown". A cover by a dude group called Aranda that I just heard and Kelly was VERY faithful to. (hear the versions played together here.) Sounds better coming from my girlfriend's lungs though. Speaking of Kelly's lungs, she should totally take her shirt off.

It took me a 2nd and 3rd listen though to appreciate much of the rest of the album, but now that I have, I can definitely embrace this as easily as I did Breakaway. I would advise her, though, to follow her own heart, commercial success or not. (4 of 5 stars)