Thankful (Kelly Clarkson album)

Thankful is the debut album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released in the United States by RCA on April 15, 2003 (see 2003 in music). "Miss Independent" was its first single, followed by "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is".

Initially scheduled for a November 2002 release, the album debuted at number one on the American Billboard 200 selling 297,000 copies. "Miss Independent" went on to be a Top 10 hit in the US. The album went on to be certified double platinum, with almost 3 million copies shipped.

Thankful included three cover tracks, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" originally by Aretha Franklin, "Some Kind of Miracle" originally sung by Puff Johnson and "Just Missed the Train" by Danielle Brisebois. "Just Missed the Train" was previously covered by Carly Smithson (then Carly Hennessy), who worked on much of her album with Brisebois. Thankful had sold 2,745,000 copies in the U.S.^[2] In Canada Thankful was certified platinum for 100,000 copies shipped.^[3] The album has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide according to Nielsen Soundcheck worldwide scans.^[4]

Reception

Critical reception

Critical response for Thankful were generally positive. On Metacritic, a website that compiles various reviews, the album received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews.^[10] Entertainment Weekly noted that "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades".^[11] Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, praising Clarkson's talent and vocal abilities, while criticizing the album for feeling manufactured. They note that "[her] high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her American Idol overlords".^[12]

Track listing

Japanese release bonus track

Sales and chart performance

Release of the album was preceded by the single "Miss Independent", which become a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit and a number one top 40 smash. In thanks to the success of the single, as well as buzz from her American Idol win (Clarkson also appeared several times on the show's second season to promote Thankful), the album sold well in the United States. It managed to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with 297,000 copies sold. The album sold over 1 million copies in six weeks.^[13] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Thankful has sold 2,745,000 copies to date in the US.^[2]

Further single releases "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is" did not replicate the success of the previous single. "Just Missed the Train" and "You Thought Wrong" had been planned for possible single releases, but after the underperformance of "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is", they were canceled.^[14]

International sales and certifications

Chart procession and succession

Release history

Initially, the album had been scheduled to be released in November 2002, only a few months after the completion of the first season of American Idol.^[23] However, Clarkson's demanding schedule and difficulty finding tracks that suited her taste and image forced the album to be delayed several times. By the time the album was released, over six months had elapsed since "A Moment Like This" had hit number one.

Notes

• Two songs originally on the album, "Trace of Gold" and "Today for Me", were replaced just before the album release by "Anytime" and "A Moment Like This". Early released versions of the CD still show the original tracks on players that read the data from the CD itself (such as Windows Media Player). The two songs have yet to be heard by the general public.

• Copies of Thankful sold during its first year of release contained a computer program that could be loaded, and used with the internet for artist updates and music videos. The program ceased to function when her official RCA website was launched.

Personnel

• Vocals - Kelly Clarkson
• Background Vocals - Kelly Clarkson, Suzie Benson, Danielle Brisebois, Debra Byrd, Sharlotte Gibson, Mary Griffin, Rebekah Jordan, Cindy Mizelle, Conesha Owens, Evan Rogers, Aiesha Wright, Betty Wright, Jeanette Wright, Sam Watters, Chris Willis, Leslie Smith
• Guitar - Chris Camozzi, Pathik Desai, Paul Gendler, Corky James, Clif Magness, Rhett Lawrence, Tim Pierce, Olle Romo, Matthew Wilder, Dan Warner
• Bass - Mike Elizondo, Randy Jackson, Clif Magness, Steve Pearce, Tommy Sims
• Keyboards - Doug Emery, Clif Magness, Louis Biancaniello, Steve Mac, Carl Sturken
• Percussion - Steve Ferrera
• Piano - Jim Gasior, Clif Magness, Matthew Wilder
• Violin - Charlie Bisharat, Bruce Dukov, Ghislaine Fleishman, Berj Garabedian, Peter Kent, Emma Kummrow, Charlene Kwas, Charles Parker, Michele Richards, Gregory Teperman, John Wittenberg, Ken Yerke
• Viola - Bob Becker, Darrin McCann, Peter Nocella, David Young
• Cello - Larry Corbett, Jennie Lorenzo, Dan Smith
• Organ - Kenneth Crouch
• Concert Master - Joel Derouin
• French Horn - Rick Todd
• DJ - Rhett Lawrence, Wayne Rodrigues
• Scratching - Rhett Lawrence, Wayne Rodrigues
• Drums - Teddy Campbell, Steve Ferrera, Abe Laboriel, Jr., Lee Levin, Josh Freese

Production

• Executive Producer - Clive Davis
• Production Coordination - Brian Coleman, Andrea Derby, Jolie Levine-Aller
• Producer - Louis Biancaniello, Desmond Child, Cathy Dennis, Steve Ferrera, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Steve Mac, Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Sam Watters, Matthew Wilder
• Engineer - Louis Biancaniello, Carlos Alvarez, J.D. Andrew, Rich Balmer, Jeff Chestek, Steve Churchyard, Quentin Dunn, Doug Emery, Conrad Golding, Jules Gondar, Al Hemberger, Dino Hermann, Matt Howe, Jimmy Hoyson, Jeff Kanan, Chris Laws, Greg London, Craig Lozowick, Clif Magness, Marcelo Marulanda, Csaba Petocz, Lee Levin, Andy Zulla, Robin Sellars, Sam Watters
• Mixing - Louis Biancaniello, Carlos Alvarez, Bob Clearmountain, Steve Ferrera, Rhett Lawrence, Tony Maserati, Steve McMillan, Dave Pensado, Andy Zulla, Mike Shipley
• Programming - Louis Biancaniello, Doug Emery, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Matthew Wilder
• Arranger - Louis Biancaniello, Doug Emery, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Sam Watters
• Mixing Assistant - James Briggs, Brendan Kuntz, Matt Snedecor, Patrick Woodward
• Assistant Engineer - Dan Bucchi, Gordon Goss, Kevin Harp, Jun Ishizeki, Daniel Pursey, Cesar Ramirez
• Vocal Editing - Dabling Harward
• Pro-Tools Editing - Rhett Lawrence, Steve McMillan, Andy Zulla, Jim Watts, Olle Romo
• Drum Programming - Carl Sturken
• Vocal Arrangement - Chris Willis
• Strings Arrangements - Dave Arch, Larry Gold
• Strings Conductor - Larry Gold
• Orchestra Manager - Suzie Katayama
• Songwriter - Stephanie Saraco
• Mastering - Stephen Marcussen
• A&R - Steve Ferrera
• Photography - Tony Duran
• Art Direction - Frank Harkins, Brett Kilroe

References