Official Charts Pop Gem #68: Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone

Each week, we put a shout out for your Pop Gem suggestions – your fave classic tracks that are overlooked, under-played or simply huge songs that need their brilliance to be celebrated even more.

This week’s theme was Bitter & Twisted – we were looking for tracks that packed a punch, whether it was a vengeful, angry, super-loud track, or a song that served some serious lyrical sass.

We got it down to 14 – it was a tough week. Don’t forget to check out our video playlist of all finalists, plus our Spotify and Deezer playlists of every Pop Gem ever picked. Ever ever ever.

So who, when faced with 14 absolute stonkers like that, did we go for? Why, it was Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone if you must know.

Watch the video for Since U Been Gone before we explain why Kelly had to walk away with this one.

Why it had to be Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson is one of those American dream success fairy-tales come to life. Since winning the very first series of American Idol back in 2002, Kelly has shown you can turn a TV talent show win into an international career. The former waitress has racked up huge hits in her native US and across the globe and we are amazed Kelly’s hasn’t been given the Pop Gem nod before today. So let’s right that wrong straightaway, shall we?

The song

While we won’t quite call it a comeback, Since U Been Gone is the song that reinvented Kelly for international audiences and really made the world sit up and take notice. Since U Been Gone is a rocky, joyous, energetic kiss-off to an ex who was no good at all and was penned by Max Martin, the genius behind megahits like …Baby One More Time for Britney Spears, So What for fellow Pop Gem nominee Pink and I Kissed A Girl for Katy Perry.

While material from Kelly’s debut album Thankful suggested she’d be heading in an R&B/ballad direction, Since U Been Gone washed away that very idea from the very first chorus. Kelly was back and, this time, it’s with a truckload of guitars behind her.

While it may sound like a Number 1, Since U Been Gone actually peaked at Number 5 in 2005, selling over 330,000 copies.

Kelly’s chart story

Kelly Clarkson has notched up 14 Top 40 hits in the UK, with eight of them making it into the Top 10. She’s scored one chart-topper – My Life Would Suck Without You hit Number 1 in March 2009.

Kelly’s first UK hit was 2003’s very much a tune Miss Independent, originally intended for Christina Aguilera (and you can totally tell, really). It reached Number 6 in 2003.

Kelly’s bestselling single in the UK is Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You), which reached Number 8 in 2011, shifting over 480,000 copies.

Over on the Official Albums Chart, Kelly’s scored four Top 10 releases – Breakway (2005), My December (2007), All I Ever Wanted (2009) and Stronger from 2011. Her Greatest Hits was a Top 20 album in 2012.

Kelly’s American Idol winner’s single was never released in the UK, and yet pretty much everyone in the UK knows it anyway. Why? Well, that tune was none other than A Moment Like This, which was a Number 1 for Leona Lewis on winning the third series of UK’s The X Factor in 2006. Leona’s version spent four weeks at Number 1 and has sold over 900,000 copies.

But it’s Kelly’s moment today, and we salute you, Clarko! A worthy Pop Gem.

Playlists

Watch the video for all 14 of our finalists and feast your ears on our Spotify and Deezer playlists too!

Every Pop Gem ever

Fancy reliving those perfect Pop Gems we already picked all over again? No worries, get your ears wrapped round these playlists on Deezer and Spotify. SLAY.

Deezer Spotify

Pop Gem Hall Of Fame

Today's Pop Gem is the latest in a long line of amazing pop songs that have been inducted into our Pop Gem Hall Of Fame. Take a look at all the tracks who've received the honour so far

Your Pop Gem needs you

Got a Pop Gem of your own? Want to suggest a theme for another week? Find out how you can get involved in the Pop Gem party.