#Breakaway kelly clarkson movie

Amid the spiky pop-rock and heightened emotion on the parent album, Breakaway – with its gently layered chorus – stands out as a moment of serenity that strips Kelly Clarkson’s persona back to a readily relatable core.

Yet, the track sitting so comfortably within her range makes it such a captivating listen. Even a slight shift in urgency during the middle-eight: “Buildings with a hundred floors, swinging ’round revolving doors, maybe I don’t know where they’ll take me but, gotta keep moving on, moving on, fly away, breakaway” is handled with ease. And it’s true she’s a far better singer than Breakaway allows her to be. Kelly Clarkson has cited this as one of her least favourite songs since it’s not particularly challenging to sing. One of the smartest things Breakaway does is more or less stick with the same arrangement that existed for Avril Lavigne ( her version later leaked, and she’s since included it on some tour setlists). The song is completely disarming and removes any opportunity to stir up resentment over Kelly Clarkson’s actions by presenting a likeable account of someone merely trying to make the most of the chances they’ve been given. Breakaway helped smooth over the transition, with lyrics that painted a picture of abject humility: “Out of the darkness and into the sun, but I won’t forget the place I come from, I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway”. But if anything, she was trying to make the most of it by signing with a management team who had the capacity to treat her as a priority act. A narrative could easily have emerged that painted her out to be ungrateful or disrespectful of the platform, having already reaped its benefits. This was a fine line for Kelly Clarkson to walk, for American Idol was still hugely popular, pulling in 25 – 30 million viewers per episode. Having risen to fame as the inaugural winner of American Idol, she was now seeking to distance herself from the contest, parting ways with Simon Fuller and 19 Management shortly before her second album was released. The plan was for this to be nothing more than a side-project: a soundtrack single that would tide fans over without interfering in, or misrepresenting, the direction of her next album.Įven though Breakaway wasn’t written for Kelly Clarkson, it acted as a perfect summation of her current position.

#Breakaway kelly clarkson movie

But the opportunity to contribute to the soundtrack of a Julie Andrews movie ( The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, also starring Anne Hathaway) was enough to twist her arm, and she agreed. However, after deciding that it didn’t fit the sound she was going for, Breakaway instead passed over to Kelly Clarkson a few years later…who also wasn’t overly enamoured with the song given how different Breakaway was to the rest of the material she was recording at the time. Avril Lavigne co-wrote the track while working on her debut album, Let Go. Yet that barely scratches the surface of the impact this song had in America, where it ostensibly ended up leading the campaign, despite that having never been the intention. I mean, this is the kind of music I fell in love with, when I was old enough to buy CDs, to discover bands - like, my first year of high school, which is grade nine in Canada.In most territories, the release of Breakaway as the fifth and final single from the album of the same name marked something of a victory lap for Kelly Clarkson it was a modest hit and a change of pace to round off a year of phenomenal success. But I was just ready to get back out there, rock the f-k out, and again just thinking about the live shows. “I think especially after my last album being so mellow and dramatic and deep and introspective - you know, it was beautiful, and it was where I was at in my life, and that’s what worked for me at the time. I just really want to rock out,'” she told Billboard. “I went into this album and just said, ‘I want to make a pop-punk record, a rock n’ roll record. Most recently, Lavigne unveiled her seventh studio album, Love Sux, in February. The LP spent an impressive 97 total weeks on the chart. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated September 28, 2002. Lavigne’s Let Go, released on June 4, 2002, peaked at No. Celebrate 20 years of Let Go with the 20th Anniversary edition on – including my brand new cover of “Breakaway”!