Because of You (Kelly Clarkson song)

"Because of You" is a song recorded by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). It was written by Clarkson along with its producers David Hodges and Ben Moody, both from Evanescence. It was released on August 16, 2005, by RCA Records, as the third single from Breakaway. Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old to cope with the emotional distress caused by her parents' divorce. She wanted the song to be included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), but her record label rejected the song. She then polished the song with Hodges and Moody before successfully convincing her label to include it on Breakaway.

Lyrically, "Because of You" explores the pain of Clarkson's deteriorating relationship with her father. The song begins with a piano-led melody and as it launches into the chorus, the sound of a roaring guitar becomes apparent. "Because of You" received critical acclaim, with many music critics complimenting its expressive lyrics, creative arrangement and Clarkson's vocal prowess. It peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 2 million digital downloads in the United States. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Because of You" became Clarkson's biggest success in Europe, topping the European Hot 100 Singles chart. It also reached number one in Brazil, the Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland, as well as the top ten in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

The song's accompanying music video was directed by Vadim Perelman. Clarkson wrote the treatment for the video herself in order to reflect the pain that she felt due to her parents' divorce. The video's plot centers on Clarkson engaging in a heated argument with her husband in front of her child before realizing that she was repeating her parents' mistake. It won in the category for Best Female Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. "Because of You" was performed live at numerous venues, including the My December Tour (2007) as well as the All I Ever Wanted Tour (2009). It was covered by several artists including Ronan Parke, who was a runner-up in the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent, and added to the international soundtrack of Brazilian soap opera Belíssima. In 2007, the song was recorded by Reba McEntire as a duet with Clarkson, which was released as a lead single for McEntire's twenty-fourth studio album Reba: Duets. This version reached number 36 on the Canadian Hot 100. "Piece by Piece", the title track from Clarkson's seventh studio album, serves as the canonical sequel to "Because of You".

Background and writing

"Because of You" was written by Clarkson alongside its producer, David Hodges and Ben Moody. They also wrote and produced another track, titled "Addicted", that appeared in Clarkson's album Breakaway (2004). Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old as a means of coping with the emotional distress caused by the divorce of her parents. She wrote the lyrics of the song in less than 25 minutes.

In an interview with The Guardian, Clarkson said that she wanted to include the song in her first album, Thankful (2003), but she was laughed at.

Composition

"Because of You" is a piano-driven pop ballad with a length of three minutes and 39 seconds. Sheet music for the song shows the key of F minor, then modulating a whole step to G minor in common time at a moderate tempo of 69 beats per minute, with Clarkson's vocal range spanning over two octaves from A3 to F5. Tony Heywood of MusicOMH noted that the song's piano arrangement is reminiscent of Tori Amos. Lyrically, "Because of You" is a fiery ode to Clarkson's absentee father, and begins with Clarkson singing "oohs" over a somber piano which creates a "wintry tone." As the song launches into the chorus, the roaring guitar is evident, and the lyrics, "Because of you I never stray too far from the sidewalk / Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt," were deemed as "touching" by Dave Donelly of Sputnikmusic. Dave Donnelly of Sputnikmusic compared the song to Evanescence's "My Immortal" (2003). He added that Clarkson managed to take the piano-driven song in a different direction with a "stormy, hard blues vocal... avoiding the typical raised-key final chorus cliché along the way".

Critics also lauded Clarkson's vocal prowess in the song. Pam Avoledo of Blogcritics thought that vocally, the song is Clarkson's "shining" moment. Tony Heywood of MusicOMH noted that in the song, Clarkson's voice is "full of vulnerability, ache and wounded pride." At the 24th ASCAP Pop Music Awards, the song was honoured with the Most Performed Songs award. In July 2008, BBC News reported that according to Performing Right Society, "Because of You" was the second most played song in the United Kingdom over the last five years, following Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" (2005). On March 5, 2013, Billboard ranked the song at number seven in its list of Top 100 American Idol Hits of All Time. Additionally, it also appeared at number five of Clarkson's Top 15 Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits through the week ending April 29, 2017.

Commercial performance

"Because of You" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 99 on the week ending September 3, 2005. On November 19, 2005, the song peaked at number seven and became her sixth single to reach the top-ten. It also topped the Pop Songs chart on the week ending October 29, 2005. It became the seventh best selling single of the 2000s decade on the Pop Songs chart compiled by Billboard. On January 31, 2008, "Because of You" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The single also appeared and peaked on the UK Singles Chart at number seven on the week ending December 4, 2005. As of April 2016, the song sold over 430,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number four on the issue dated December 5, 2005. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments over 35,000 units. In New Zealand, "Because of You" debuted on New Zealand Singles Chart at number 37 on the week ending December 5, 2005, and peaked at number 19 two weeks later. On the week ending March 20, 2006, "Because of You" debuted at number eight on the German Singles Chart. Three weeks later, it peaked at number four and stayed in the position for three consecutive weeks. and Switzerland, and reached the top five in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Ireland and Norway.

Music video

Development

The accompanying music video for "Because of You" was directed by Vadim Perelman and was produced by Rhonda Vernet. Clarkson wrote the treatment for the video herself in order to reflect the pain that she felt due to her parents' divorce. Nevertheless, Clarkson also allowed Perelman to take control of the production of the video. According to Perelman, he wanted to create a disconnection to show "that this kind of dysfunctional family can exist anywhere." In an interview with MTV News, Clarkson confessed that the video is sad, rationalizing, "It's a sad song, so the video obviously has to follow that. But it ends really happy and everything and the family, my family, ends up breaking the cycle of my parents." The video premiered on October 3, 2005, on Total Request Live. The same opinion was echoed by Johnni Macke of E! who felt that watching the music video was heartbreaking. She explained, "It really paints a picture of the heartbreak that comes from your family fighting in front of you. Clarkson gets real as she sings the sad lyrics and witnesses the sadness that comes when someone breaks your family into pieces." The music video won the category of Best Female Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. This marks the second time Clarkson has won the same category two years in a row; her first win in the category was at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards for the music video of "Since U Been Gone." The music video was also nominated in the category of Viewer's Choice Award, but lost to Fall Out Boy's "Dance, Dance" (2005). At the 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards, the music video won the category of People's Choice: Favourite International Artist. The video was also nominated at the 2006 MTV Australia Video Music Awards in the category of Best Pop Video, but lost to Ashlee Simpson's "Boyfriend" (2005). According to Jocelyn Vena of MTV, the video for "Because of You" was referenced in Taylor Swift's music video for "Mine" (2010), writing "When Swift's character remembers the fights her parents used to have, her memories mirror Clarkson's attempts to exorcise the demons of her past to find love in her future."

Live performances

Clarkson performed "Because of You" at the 48th Grammy Awards which took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Donning a red dress and singing from beside a grand piano, her performance in that event garnered positive reviews from critics. Elysa Gardner of USA Today lauded Clarkson's performance and ranked it as one of the three best performances, writing, "The pre-performance clip of a girlish-looking Clarkson emphasized how little Kelly has matured. The girl most likely to escape the American Idol stigma was in fine, creamy voice, and kept the Mariah-esque riffing to a minimum." Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times considered Clarkson's performance as one of the highlights in the event and described her performance as a "thin-skinned rendition [...] in which her whole being seemed involved." Yahoo! Music praised Clarkson's rendition of the song, calling it "perfectly fine" despite the saying that it was "a little reminiscent of those many mediocre, superficial ballads trotted out on 'Idol.'" In 2016, the performance was listed by Billboard as one of Clarkson's ten "most powerful and undeniable performances." Jason Scott of Billboard commented, "Here, Clarkson serves up her signature power ballad backed by lush orchestration, sending chills through the crowd shortly before picking up two statues: best pop vocal album for Breakaway and best female pop vocal performance for "Since U Been Gone." "Because of You" was performed at the My December Tour (2007). Clarkson's performance of the song was accompanied only by Wurlitzer organ that earned her a prolonged ovation when she sent her voice soaring into the rafters. While touring at Beacon Theatre, New York City, Clarkson performed the song using only one keyboard, which was deemed by Donna Freydkin of USA Today as the most memorable moment of the event. She also performed the song using only a keyboard as an instrument during her tour at Massey Hall, Toronto. "Because of You" was also performed at the All I Ever Wanted Tour (2009). Clarkson's performance of the song during the tour in the Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, was given a positive review by Jim Cantiello of MTV. He explained that Clarkson's powerful rendition "literally stopped the show [...] for almost 30 seconds because the audience erupted in such wild applause." Caryn Ganz of Rolling Stone noted that Clarkson sang the song to pay homage to Reba McEntire who was in the audience.

Track listings

CD single

"Because of You" (album version) – 3:39
"Since U Been Gone" (Napster Live) – 3:21
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Radio Edit) – 3:58
"Because of You" – 3:39

Dance Vault Mixes

"Because of You" (Jason Nevins radio) – 3:40
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Club Mix) – 6:24
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Club With Intro Breakdown) – 6:22
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Dub) – 7:53
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Club Instrumental) – 6:24
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Radio Instrumental) – 3:58
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Remix - Acoustic Version without Strings) – 3:51
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Acoustic) – 3:50
"Because of You" (Jason Nevins Acapella) – 3:54

Remixes CD single

"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Radio Mix) – 4:04
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Club Mix) – 7:35
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Ultimix) – 5:23
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Tribe-a-Pella) – 5:24
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Club Mix Instrumental) – 7:35
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Ultimix Instrumental) – 5:23
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Bonus Beats) – 3:36
"Because of You" (Bermudez & Griffin Radio Mix Instrumental) – 4:01
"Because of You" - 3:40

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Breakaway liner notes.

Recording

Recorded by Dan Certa at NRG Recording Studios, North Hollywood, California

Personnel

Kelly Clarkson – lead vocals and background vocals
Ben Moody – producer, guitar
David Campbell – string arrangement
David Hodges – producer, piano, string arrangement
Marty O'Brien – strings, Bass

John Hanes – additional pro-tools engineer
Mark Colbert – drums
Sergio Chavez – assistant engineer
Şerban Ghenea – mixing
Tim Roberts – mixing assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2005–2006)

!Peak position

|Brazil (Crowley Broadcast Analysis)

|align="center"|1

|Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)

|align="center"|3

|Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)

|align="center"|3

|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|align="center"|1

|Germany Airplay (BVMI)

|align="center"|1

|Italy (FIMI)

|align="center"|31

|UK Airplay (Music Week)

|align="center"| 5

{|class="wikitable"

!Chart (2010)

!Peak position

| South Korea (Gaon Digital Chart)

|align="center"| 46

{|class="wikitable"

!Chart (2015)

!Peak position

|Slovenia (SloTop50)

|align="center"|50

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2005)

!Position

|UK Singles (OCC)

| style="text-align:center;"|103

|US Billboard Hot 100

| style="text-align:center;"|72

|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)

| style="text-align:center;"|69

|US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)

| style="text-align:center;"|33

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2006)

!Position

|Australia (ARIA)

| style="text-align:center;"|58

|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

| style="text-align:center;"|19

|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

| style="text-align:center;"|22

|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)

| style="text-align:center;"|48

|Brazil (Crowley Broadcast Analysis)

| style="text-align:center;"|1

|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

| style="text-align:center;"|12

|France (SNEP)

| style="text-align:center;"|76

|Germany (Media Control GfK)

|align="center"|19

|Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)

| style="text-align:center;"|11

|Italy (FIMI)

|align="center"|92

|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

| style="text-align:center;"|22

|Netherlands (Single Top 100)

| style="text-align:center;"|55

|Netherlands (NVPI Download Top 10)

| style="text-align:center;"|9

| Russia Airplay (TopHit)

| style="text-align:center;"| 26

|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

| style="text-align:center;"|8

|UK Singles (OCC)

| style="text-align:center;"|83

|UK Airplay (Music Week)

| style="text-align:center;"|10

|US Billboard Hot 100

| style="text-align:center;"|39

|US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)

| style="text-align:center;"|4

|US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)

| style="text-align:center;"|10

{|class="wikitable sortable"

!Chart (2010)

!Position