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It has now been 15 years since Kelly Clarkson dropped her debut album, Thankful. Of course, she came to fame through the much hyped TV show American Idol. The first winner of the series, the pop star did more than honor her initial record deal. How does she compete against major stars of this millennium though?
While selling well with a first single was a given, confirming that success throughout more than a decade was much harder. So was breaking over the global market. It's clear that Breakaway did wonders. How much has it sold exactly? Also, how well have performed subsequent records like Stronger and Piece by Piece? Last but not least, where does her most recent effort Meaning of Life rank inside of her discography?
Original Albums Sales
Thankful (2003)
- America
- US - 2,900,000
- Canada - 180,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 165,000
- Japan - 105,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 70,000
- New Zealand - 7,500
- Europe - 250,000
- UK - 160,000
- France - N/A
- Germany - N/A
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - N/A
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 7,500
- Switzerland - N/A
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 3,630,000
Breakaway (2004)
- America
- US - 6,500,000
- Canada - 620,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 80,000
- Mexico - 100,000
- Asia - 225,000
- Japan - 100,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 500,000
- New Zealand - 55,000
- Europe - 2,660,000
- UK - 1,620,000
- France - 60,000
- Germany - 380,000
- Italy - 12,500
- Spain - 12,500
- Sweden - 75,000
- Netherlands - 95,000
- Switzerland - 50,000
- Austria - 35,000
- Finland - 14,000
- World - 10,980,000
My December (2007)
- America
- US - 880,000
- Canada - 90,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 20,000
- Mexico - 12,500
- Asia - 65,000
- Japan - 32,500
- Oceania
- Australia - 70,000
- New Zealand - 7,500
- Europe - 330,000
- UK - 155,000
- France - 2,500
- Germany - 85,000
- Italy - 2,000
- Spain - 2,000
- Sweden - 5,000
- Netherlands - 12,500
- Switzerland - 10,000
- Austria - 7,500
- Finland - 2,000
- World - 1,510,000
All I Ever Wanted (2009)
- America
- US - 1,020,000
- Canada - 90,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - 10,000
- Asia - 70,000
- Japan - 37,500
- Oceania
- Australia - 90,000
- New Zealand - 7,500
- Europe - 420,000
- UK - 205,000
- France - 2,000
- Germany - 100,000
- Italy - 5,000
- Spain - 5,000
- Sweden - 7,500
- Netherlands - 17,500
- Switzerland - 10,000
- Austria - 7,500
- Finland - 2,000
- World - 1,750,000
Stronger (2011)
- America
- US - 1,140,000
- Canada - 100,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 10,000
- Mexico - 10,000
- Asia - 30,000
- Japan - 15,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 100,000
- New Zealand - 12,500
- Europe - 390,000
- UK - 275,000
- France - 3,000
- Germany - 55,000
- Italy - 2,500
- Spain - 1,500
- Sweden - 2,000
- Netherlands - 5,000
- Switzerland - 6,000
- Austria - 5,000
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,830,000
Wrapped in Red (2013)
- America
- US - 965,000
- Canada - 90,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 3,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 5,000
- Japan - 2,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 25,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 40,000
- UK - 20,000
- France - N/A
- Germany - 10,000
- Italy - N/A
- Spain - N/A
- Sweden - N/A
- Netherlands - 1,000
- Switzerland - 1,000
- Austria - N/A
- Finland - N/A
- World - 1,140,000
Piece by Piece (2015)
- America
- US - 295,000
- Canada - 22,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 15,000
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 5,000
- Japan - 3,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 15,000
- New Zealand - 2,000
- Europe - 80,000
- UK - 50,000
- France - 1,000
- Germany - 12,500
- Italy - 500
- Spain - 1,000
- Sweden - 1,000
- Netherlands - 1,500
- Switzerland - 1,250
- Austria - 1,000
- Finland - N/A
- World - 460,000
Meaning of Life (2017)
- America
- US - 220,000
- Canada - 17,500
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 7,500
- Mexico - N/A
- Asia - 3,000
- Japan - 2,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 5,000
- New Zealand - 500
- Europe - 30,000
- UK - 15,000
- France - 1,000
- Germany - 5,000
- Italy - 500
- Spain - 500
- Sweden - 500
- Netherlands - 1,000
- Switzerland - 500
- Austria - 1,000
- Finland - N/A
- World - 300,000
Original Album Sales - Comments
A few years ago, it was possible to tag as flops recent albums of Clarkson. After selling nearly 11 million copies of Breakaway, she was unable to reach even 2 million. Now that she is up to 8 albums, we understand that the 2004 blockbuster was the exception rather than the rule.
In fact, ignoring that record we notice that Clarkson's trajectory is fairly consistent, although most recent releases are struggling in sales. My December is still a huge bomb. It sold less than 15% of its immediate predecessor and even with the decreasing market, its 2 follow ups outsold it.
At the end of the day, sales of 21,6 million units across 8 studio albums is very respectable in this day and age.
2003 Thankful - 3,630,000
2004 Breakaway - 10,980,000
2007 My December - 1,510,000
2009 All I Ever Wanted - 1,750,000
2011 Stronger - 1,830,000
2013 Wrapped in Red - 1,140,000
2015 Piece by Piece - 460,000
2017 Meaning of Life - 300,000
Physical Singles Sales
As a reminder, the weighting is done with a 10 to 3 ratio between one album and one physical single.
From 2001 to late 00s, winners of singing TV series were surefire smashes on physical formats in all relevant markets. Freshly off from her victory on American Idol, Kelly Clarkson issued her much hyped debut single, A Moment Like This. It was far and away the highest selling US single of 2002.
Subsequent singles had traditional releases: they had no CD release in the US, but they came out in Europe and Australia instead. Several of them were successful, most notably Because of You which sold 420,000 units. After Already Gone, her singles started to be released in digital formats only except a few exceptions.
All in all, the vocalist sold over 2,2 million units in this format.
Thankful (2003) - 278,000 equivalent albums
A Moment Like This - 670,000
Miss Independent - 150,000
Low - 50,000
The Trouble with Love Is - 55,000
Breakaway (2004) - 315,000 equivalent albums
Breakaway - 120,000
Since U Been Gone - 310,000
Behind These Hazel Eyes - 140,000
Because of You - 420,000
Walk Away - 60,000
My December (2007) - 19,000 equivalent albums
Never Again - 60,000
One Minute - 2,000
Don't Waste Your Time - 2,500
All I Ever Wanted (2009) - 36,000 equivalent albums
My Life Would Suck Without You - 100,000
I Do Not Hook Up - 10,000
Already Gone - 10,000
Stronger (2011) - 12,000 equivalent albums
Mr. Know It All - 35,000
What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - 10,000
Wrapped in Red (2013) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
Piece by Piece (2015) - 1,000 equivalent albums
Heartbeat Song - 3,000
Meaning of Life (2017) - 0 equivalent album
No physical single released.
Orphan - 0 equivalent album
No orphan physical single released.
Digital Singles Sales
As a reminder, the weighting is done with a 10 to 1,5 ratio between one album and one digital single.
The 00s
Do you know that Clarkson's debut album Thankful was released 13 days before the arrival of iTunes Store? Obviously, digital sales were near-inexistent by then. By 2006, they were starting to be significant, although still only a third of their later peak of 2012. Under those circumstances, exactly 30 months passed until the first million selling download in the US way back in October 2005. Two months later, a second song made it past a milli: Clarkson's Since U Been Gone. By late 2008, she was the second artist with the most million sellers, topped only by Rihanna.
If her singles, most notably those of Breakaway, were massive successes in the US, they weren't always as big elsewhere. If we exclude Because of You, they sold more than 75% of their units there. That hit was a global blockbuster though, selling 7,7 million units globally. It did so thanks to huge initial impact and lasting appeal as it was impossible to sell that much back then. In total, Breakaway's songs sold close to 21 million downloads and ringtones making it one of the first monster-digital seller.
My December bombed hard. With a market growing fast, it failed miserably to produce hits. Combined, its songs sold 10 times less than titles from its predecessors in spite of a market that almost tripled. My Life Would Suck Without You was a nice comeback for the artist, opening the way to a decently successful era. That one originated 3 million sellers.
Thankful (2003) - 573,000 equivalent albums
The Trouble with Love Is - 360,000
Miss Independent - 1,560,000
Low - 140,000
A Moment Like This - 1,180,000
Before Your Love - 420,000
Remaining tracks - 160,000
Breakaway (2004) - 3,143,000 equivalent albums
Breakaway - 3,180,000
Since U Been Gone - 4,840,000
Behind These Hazel Eyes - 2,380,000
Because of You - 7,740,000
Because of You (with Reba McEntire) - 780,000
Walk Away - 1,820,000
Remaining tracks - 210,000
My December (2007) - 312,000 equivalent albums
Never Again - 1,710,000
Remaining tracks - 370,000
All I Ever Wanted (2009) - 1,446,000 equivalent albums
My Life Would Suck Without You - 5,360,000
I Do Not Hook Up - 1,240,000
Already Gone - 2,550,000
Remaining tracks - 490,000
The 10s and orphan songs
With downloads reaching their peak in 2012, the era Stronger did well in that format. The title track was huge, selling close to 8 million units. Mr. Know It All and Don't You Wanna Stay sold over 3 million copies each. The era was responsible for more than 17 million sales.
Wrapped in Red isn't the kind of albums that get strong hits, which is visible in its results. Piece by Piece got two million sellers which isn't that bad for a 2015 album that is largely seen as a flop. Then, songs of Meaning Of Life are being non-events so far.
Clarkson has sold over 62 million digital units up to date. Her strongest sales avenues are US downloads at over 36 million, South Korean downloads at 7 million and US ringtones at 5 million.
Stronger (2011) - 2,574,000 equivalent albums
Mr. Know It All - 3,820,000
What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) - 7,970,000
Dark Side - 1,070,000
Don't You Wanna Stay - 3,160,000
I Forgive You - 820,000
Remaining tracks - 320,000
Wrapped in Red (2013) - 102,000 equivalent albums
Underneath the Tree - 360,000
Remaining tracks - 320,000
Piece by Piece (2015) - 423,000 equivalent albums
Heartbeat Song - 1,570,000
Piece by Piece - 1,010,000
Remaining tracks - 240,000
Meaning of Life (2017) - 69,000 equivalent albums
Love So Soft - 360,000
Remaining tracks - 100,000
Orphan - 660,000 equivalent albums
Catch My Breath - 2,450,000
People Like Us - 730,000
Don't Rush - 460,000
Tie It Up - 210,000
Remaining tracks - 550,000
Streaming Sales
Streaming is made up of audio and video streams. Our CSPC methodology now includes both to better reflect the real popularity of each track. The main source of data for each avenue is respectively Spotify and YouTube. As detailed in the Fixing Log article, Spotify represents 157 million of the 272 million users of streaming platforms, while YouTube is pretty much the only video platform generating some revenue for the industry. Below is the equivalence set on the aforementioned article:
Audio Stream - 1500 plays equal 1 album unit
Video Stream - 11,750 views equal 1 album unit
Equivalent Albums Sales (EAS) = 272/157 * Spotify streams / 1500 + YouTube views / 11750
Streaming Part 1
Unsurprisingly, hits from Breakaway remain much more popular than those of Thankful. The teen pop early hits are mostly ignored nowadays. A Moment Like This and Miss Independent register 15 million streams on Spotify each, a very modest number for 2003 hits. The album totals 65,000 EAS from streams.
The sophomore era is a completely different story. Because of You and Since U Been Gone combine for a stunning 300 million streams on Spotify. The former is also a monster at YouTube with more than 572 million views. Breakaway and Behind These Hazel Eyes lost ground lately but they remain solid at 60 million and 34 million, respectively. Furthermore, albums cuts also perform well with streams ranging from 2 to 5 million. The album closes its streaming count at 563,000 EAS.
Streaming Part 2
Album sales, downloads, now streams, there is truly no way to find positive indicators about My December. Its performances on streaming area are chaotic. Never Again will still need many months before reaching 10 million on Spotify while everything else is just horrendous. A 2007 album follow up of a 10+ million seller, it registers a mere 24,000 EAS from streams. Outch.
All I Ever Wanted does much better. My Life... is now comfortably over 50 million, half of the total of the album. Various of its album tracks are currently unavailable on Spotify, but they did enjoy some plays before this removal. The LP stands on 144,000 EAS from streams.
Stronger is once again a strong improvement. What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) is still quite hot at 165 million Spotify streams to date. The remaining 3 singles are nowhere near as strong but they still stand on 20-32 million each, while album tracks stand at 10% of that level. This era is worth 368,000 EAS on this format.
Streaming Part 3
Results of Wrapped In Red aren't bad but not good either. Underneath the Tree is its largest hit at 44 million streams. On its side, Silent Night has the most YouTube hits at 19 million.
Piece by Piece was Clarkson's first album to be released during the streaming era. That's why Heartbeat Song belongs to her most streamed songs even if it was nowhere near her biggest hit overall. The song stands on 134 million streams on Spotify and 87 million on YouTube. The title track is a decent runner up. Additional songs are very weak by 2015's standards. At 314,000 EAS from streams, the album almost match its pure sales with streaming units.
Then comes Meaning of Life. Issued nearly 7 months ago, with streams hotter than ever, the context was perfect for this album to secure large sales from this avenue. So far, it lies on 100,000 EAS. That's more than 3 times less than its predecessor in spite of the booming market. It's also less than 5 of her previous 7 LPs. These tragic results are even more negative when we know that streams represent the youngest audience of music enthusiasts.
Streaming Part 4
With a career of 15 years, it's logical to see various orphan songs appearing in this lists. Outtakes, live songs, singles for compilations, we are talking about as many as 37 recordings. The biggest of them is Catch My Breath which records 42,000 EAS, nearly a third of the total of these songs.
Full Length related record Sales
It sounds fairly logical to add together weighted sales of one era - studio album, physical singles, downloads, streams - to get the full picture of an album's popularity. For older releases though, they also generate sales of various live, music videos and compilation albums.
All those packaging-only records do not create value, they exploit the value originating from the parent studio album of each of its tracks instead. Inevitably, when such compilations are issued, this downgrades catalog sales of the original LP. Thus, to perfectly gauge the worth of these releases, we need to re-assign sales proportionally to its contribution of all the compilations which feature its songs. The following table explains this method.
How to understand this table? If you check this example, these figures mean Greatest Hits - Chapter One sold 1,300,000 units worldwide. Then, the second statistics column means streams of all the songs included on this package add for 1,077,989 EAS.
The second part at the right of the table shows how many streams are coming from each original album as well as the share they represent. Thus, streaming figures tell us Breakaway songs are responsible for 50% of the Greatest Hits - Chapter One tracklist attractiveness. In other words, it generated 651,000 of its 1,300,000 album sales. Eventually, we apply this methodology to all compilations.
BONUS: Total Album (all types) Sales per Country
- America
- US - 14,690,000
- Canada - 1,295,000
- Argentina - N/A
- Brazil - 165,000
- Mexico - 160,000
- Asia - 590,000
- Japan - 310,000
- Oceania
- Australia - 945,000
- New Zealand - 105,000
- Europe - 4,520,000
- UK - 2,740,000
- France - 80,000
- Germany - 705,000
- Italy - 25,000
- Spain - 25,000
- Sweden - 105,000
- Netherlands - 145,000
- Switzerland - 85,000
- Austria - 60,000
- Finland - 20,000
- World - 22,920,000
Please note that some of the countries totals may be slightly incomplete when the figure is N/A for minor releases. Countries with too much missing information to be precise enough are listed as N/A.
KELLY CLARKSON CAREER CSPC RESULTS
So, after checking all the figures, how many overall equivalent album sales has each album by Kelly Clarkson achieved? Well, at this point we hardly need to add up all of the figures defined in this article!
[xyz-ips snippet="updatedCSPCalbums"]
Conclusions
In the vein of Sheryl Crow, Brandy or Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson is a consistent US seller that happened to get a once-in-a-lifetime success at some point, both in her country and abroad. Someway, Breakaway is bigger than her. This album is up to 15,7 million equivalent album sales overall, an immense number for a singer who's name is barely known in various relevant markets. It continues to enjoy great numbers in all fronts, securing it a nice future.
My December is one of the biggest flops we have met so far. With that album, Kelly Clarkson decided she didn't wanted to be a singer-only anymore. She wrote all its songs and refused the help of legendary producers like Max Martin, Dr. Luke. Not only the record generated 8 times less sales than its predecessor, resulting in heavy returns to the label, the arena tour was also cancelled. Once newly scaled, it featured only 3,000-ish sits arenas, which barely sold out. The album is also her worst rated at Allmusic.com.
The duo of producers was called back for All I Ever Wanted following this disaster. They offered My Life Would Suck Without You to Kelly Clarkson for the results we know. Kelly Clarkson lost her fight against the pop culture. Her comeback was confirmed with Stronger which managed to top the success of Thankful.
The last 3 efforts add for barely 2 million EAS combined. If we can forget about Wrapped in Red since it is a Christmas release, the remaining two show vertiginous declines from their immediate predecessors. Statistics of Meaning of Life are especially worrying. After 7 months, the album has yet to cross half a million units across all formats combined.
So far, Kelly Clarkson has shifted 34,9 million equivalent album sales. While we can't put her in the same league as Rihanna, Britney Spears, Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, her career's total is highly respectable. To put it differently, back in 2002 not many would have bet she would reach those numbers.
To go deeper...
Thanks to our new ASR (Artist Success Rating) concept, we know that her sales represent 12,32 million times the purchase of her entire discography (equivalent discography sales). Coupled with her total sales, it translates into an ASR score is 117, almost on par with Amy Winehouse.
Additionally, the following sections list her most successful songs as well as her records and achievements.
As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!
Sources: IFPI, Spotify, YouTube, Discogs, Chartmasters.org.
KELLY CLARKSON'S BIGGEST TRACKS
The list is compiled in album equivalent sales generated by each song. Therefore, these figures are not merged units of singles formats. Instead, it includes weighted sales of the song's physical single, download, ringtone and streaming as well as its share among sales of all albums on which it is featured.
1. 2004 - Kelly Clarkson - Because of You [Breakaway] - 6,630,000
2. 2004 - Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone [Breakaway] - 4,400,000
3. 2011 - Kelly Clarkson - What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) [Stronger] - 2,760,000
4. 2004 - Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway [Breakaway] - 2,230,000
5. 2009 - Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You [All I Ever Wanted] - 1,840,000
6. 2002 - Kelly Clarkson - A Moment Like This [Thankful] - 1,640,000
7. 2004 - Kelly Clarkson - Behind These Hazel Eyes [Breakaway] - 1,370,000
8. 2003 - Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent [Thankful] - 1,360,000
9. 2007 - Kelly Clarkson - Never Again [My December] - 1,090,000
10. 2009 - Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone [All I Ever Wanted] - 910,000
Records & Achievements
- With 605,000 units sold, A Moment Like This/Before Your Love was the highest selling physical single of 2002 in the US.
- On Billboard's chart dated December 31st, 2005, Since U Been Gone was the second ever download to sell a million units in the US.
- At 15,715,000 EAS, Breakaway is the most successful female album of 2004. Furthermore, it is 5th overall.
- At 6,630,000 EAS, Because of You is among the 5 most successful songs of 2004.
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Hi,
It's true that My December is very very disappointing after Breakaway, I think if she released All I Ever Wanted after Breakaway, it would be a great success! She has potential, her albums, instead My December, are very good!
She has a good stability, particularly in the US, and that's a good thing, I hope she will sell more of Meaning of Life, even if I think she will not have a big hit anymore...
Thank you MJD for this article I was waiting for long 😁
Kelly Clarkson and her team knowing that a simple music video and a song like "because of you" had made her big in terms of album sales and worldwide charts, Kelly should have realized that is the kind of song and the kind of music video she should focus more to continue to sell well.
I agree. But I think it was mainly because of the label. Kelly's always expressed how much she likes singing soulful songs (soulful not only in the sense of being soul music, but also in the general sense of the word). We have "Piece by Piece" (the song) to prove it. I bet they weren't even expecting it to hit the way it did, out of the blue. They even went on to release an acoustic version of the song after the American Idol rendition, which was what conquered the listeners. That was the biggest sign of "Hey guys, this is what we should be doing". From all the songs of her last albums it is that song that really got people's attention. It's no wonder her biggest hit is "Because of You". She might have tons of success with upbeat songs, but I definitely think they downplayed her potential with confessional ballads, which, by the way, are the ones she writes and wears her heart on her sleeve while singing them. Kelly has a great amount of range within her personality. She's very charismatic not only in the sense of being feisty and fun (which, by the way, is an amazing quality she has), but also in being vulnerable and down to earth. She has a very multidimensional charisma, it's not just plain entertainment. There's the authenticity factor which sets her apart from a lot of people and that should've been explored more throughout her past discography.
This was also the problem with Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato. I mean I love Christina's style and songs but sadly, in the late 90s and early 2000s , people still go for good ballads and good image. And there were already popular female artists who are reigning on danceable/uptempo songs: Britney, Rihanna, Beyonce, etc.
And when Christina Aguilera decided to go classy starting with Candyman, I knew she was going to be less successful. Britney got the uptempo songs and was unstoppable so Xtina's team should have focused on ballads and good image so she sould be the next diva after Celine,Mariah and Whitney.
Anyway, going back to Kelly, I really don't like her new songs. The melodies weren't catchy at all.
Wow, "My December" really hurt her career that much. She was a MAJOR superstar during Breakaway era, here in Asia she was so huge. I remember she won the Best International Artist at the MTV Asia Awards back in 2005.
I think she took it too early to produce such experimental and indie album as "My December". She refused to work with top producers with that album, instead collaborating with her band members. The result, sadly, she lost a lot of her appeal worldwide. She could have been a bigger act, if she listened to Clive Davis and recorded pop hits as follow-up to "Breakaway".
The good thing is that Kelly is NOT a label puppet and not a manufactured pop act, who willing to fake their image to sell well. And after all, her talents and charming personality will always shine, no matter how much she sold records 🙂
Thanks for this analysis.
One of the most peculiar/frustrating things about being a KC stan is to know that she could have been the biggest superstar in the world, definitely on the same level of stardom as Rihanna and Beyonce. Looking at her career would give you a lot of what ifs. What if she didn't have a stifling record label? What if she agreed to scrap My December? Coming from the heights of Breakaway, I really think she was just one album away from reaching that status and the rest would have just fallen into place. Thus, it's tempting to side with her label on the decision to scrap MD. However, that means losing gems such as Sober and Maybe. She's a person who has always fought for artistic freedom and integrity, and knowing how her label treated her especially during that time, her decision was understandable and respectable.
The easiest time she could have solidified her impact in music was during the first decade of her career, and it's bittersweet to see that didn't quite happen. The bright side is that due to her talent and how she is as a person, she was able to maintain her presence, relevance, and respect in the music community. As a fan, I wouldn't have it any other way, and I'm sure Kelly wouldn't as well. She's on good hands now with her current label and I'm sure there are new heights she is yet to experience in this new chapter of her career.
I think artists need to be smart and choose the right time to take control for themselves. It is not wrong to follow the record labels / manager tips in the begin to build a solid career. Whtiney, Mariah and Beyonce are great examples. Kelly took risks too soon, unfortunately.
I am not sure about this. But I think Carrie Underwood should have higher CSPC.
Thank you for this!!
Kelly is a legend!!
And I'm very surprised with South Korean numbers... do you have more details?
Hi Vitor!
A good share of her total comes from Because of You which stands at 2,9 million in SK. Mr. Know It All, What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger) and I Forgive You all stand in the 650-800k range. Before Your Love is at 350k. Then, Catch My Breath, My Life Would Suck Without You, Breakaway, Since U Been Gone and Walk Away are all estimated within' the 150-250k range.
Would you mind breaking down the WW sales of Stronger (WDKY) & Because of You further? Not that I'm complaining but your estimations are millions higher than mine!
Hi Temporal!
Please find below relevant markets for both songs. Most missing ones are calculated with formulas as per the market share / weight of ringtones on their year of exploitation.
Stronger:
4975 US DLs
650k SK DLs
500k UK DLs
450k US RTs
250k CA DLs
215k OZ DLs
150k JP DLs+RTs
100k GE DLs
45k FR DLs
Because of You
2900k SK DLs
2100k US DLs
550k US RTs
325k UK DLs
200k JP DLs+RTs
150k CA DLs
125k GE DLs
45k FR DLs
I'm not sure she took risks too soon. I mean, take a look at Pink when she released "Try This". It was also a major drop in sales compared to "Missundaztood". But when she released "I'm Not Dead" back in 2006, she was able to increase her sales by a great margin compared to "Try This", and from then on she was able to stabilize her sales and even up her game with "Funhouse". Of course there wasn't a smash like her sophomore, but the market was already dropping in sales, so it was a general problem. Anyway, she kept her sales very strong for 3 consecutive albums from 2006 to 2012. What's surprising is that they all span a considerable amount of time. So, if we take into consideration Pink's case, the laid-back, not commercial Era wouldn't have been enough to damage Kelly's sales. I know, apples and oranges, but at least my comparison makes sense. Would've Kelly sold more had she released a more straightforward pop record? Probably. But I have another question: Had the label promoted the album properly, wouldn't have "My December" sold considerably more than it did? Look, the album started just fine in its first week (Probably more than "Breakaway" started) and the first single charted decently. It was a matter of staying power and for that I think it was because it wasn't properly promoted. Who knows? Maybe the album was just not meant to sell too much. But, as I said, it started off decently, so perhaps it was an indication of potential in sales. In the end, I think Kelly did what she had to do. She made her choice and that's what satisfied her artistically and I applaud her for that. In fact, I'm glad she did exactly what she did, 'cause I still think "My December" is still her best work to date (contrary to popular belief). Her true gems are in that album. As far as pop music is concerned I'd go as far as to say "Sober", "Maybe" and "Irvine" are masterpieces. Do you know what gets me upset? Is that people in general tend to disregard "My December" simply as a flop. It's so reductive. And they go on to say that in a way that makes the album seem just bad in quality, but, as it turns out, it's quite the opposite. The quality of the album is great and just because it didn't sell as expected, it doesn't mean it was bad. An album not 'selling well" doesn't say anything about its quality. "Breakaway" was a huge hit, but "My December" is better in terms of artistic integrity and quality. You know what, I actually think "My December" should've been a step to a more mature sound and that's what I thought at the time. I remember when she dropped out "My Life Would Suck Without You" (her most overrated song ever) and I thought it was disappointing after what she had done previously. In fact I think she played it safe with both "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stronger". I'm sorry to say this, but those two albums are two of her worse. She released the Christmas record after "Stronger", which definitely compensated for two back-to-back not so good releases, even though it wasn't actually a studio album of originals. Then she came back with "Piece By Piece", which I think is way better than "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stronger" put together. After that she changed labels and now she seems to be going a different route. Right now I don't think she should be aiming for commercial success. She's already established herself as a landmark of her time and is still relevant today. She might not sell as much as she did once, but I think she's having a good shot through a different platform nowadays apart from music. People are starting to notice she has great potential for television and as an entertainer. Who knows what the future holds? She's already solidified her music career and that's why she can do anything she wants at this stage in her life. That's proof of her success. 😉
I'm not sure whether the new songs you mentioned are related to the album "Meaning of Life." But this is, honestly, one of the best album that comes from Kelly.
You forgot the she is the most successful singer to come from an idol contest of all times.
You say she is unknown in relevant markets, but everyone knows who she is.
She is much more well known than Carrie Underwood who has sold nothing outside of North America.
I'm not even from the Western Hemisphere and I've known Kelly Clarkson since I was born
I would actually disagree with you, and most critics (even when My December came out) agreed that it was a logical step at the time. My December is one of her most beloved albums among fans and most enduring whole albums. There was never a possibility for her to reach Breakaway heights. Hell, Breakaway wouldn't have been what it was without Disney. The biggest issue with My December that carried into All I Ever Wanted was Clive being unprofessional and deciding because Kelly couldn't be controlled and actually wanted to be an artist he would put out a bunch of negativity. She is not unique. Every artist argues and pushes back on the label, but for the label to purposefully torch an artist is callous and uncalled for - also a really weird business decision.
It's also interesting that Dr. Luke was called out as a hit maker and basically acting like Kelly was dumb for not wanting to work with him, without all of the context that surrounds him professionally across numerous artists. It was the literal 1 request she had. There are plenty more hit makers besides him and that was just the label shivving Kelly for not "being a good little doll."
One of the things that wasn't discussed is that by the time this article was written, she was the only American Idol to cross 100 #1s worldwide. And even right now, she is STILL the only American Idol to do it. She is far and away the most successful person to come from AI or the shows that followed. Kelly is the back from which all of those artists stand on and that is not a small feat.
I get that there is a lot of emphasis put on album sales, but I think there is a lot of additional context that gets lost as well by not zooming out in the full picture. If you go look at polls of recognition and popularity, Kelly sits extremely high and has only improved with her talk show.
Subjectively, she is the best vocalist that's debuted in 25 years. Objectively, she's one of the best.
Also, question - wondering what the discrepancy in numbers is. As from about 2017/2018 it's always been cited she sold 25mill+ albums but you have only 22m?
could you update this to show the streaming numbers of her new album chemistry please? I understand a full discography update is time consuming and kelly isnt a super high priority, but I love checking the autoupdate numbers as they come in.
it seems that breakaway is her only true "Pop star" album. aside from that' she gpt some albums that sold nicley, but nothing come close to it. her streaming also tells the same - about 55-60% of her Total Streams are from Breakaway - and that will keep her like a one album kind. not exactly one hit wonder - because Stronger is decent, but very close to it . she just kept being famous, and Stronger and My life would suck without you are hits, but intersting to see how breakaway is 3 levels beyond everything.
Similar to Born To die for lana del rey, just that in recent years all the albums of ana gets heavy streams, so she got many multi million albums.
kellyws albums like piece by piece , my december and even All ive ever wanted are totally forgoten (not to mention Meaning of life and chemistry which are legit Legacy albums like Caution of Mariah or Liberation for christina)
