Because of You (Kelly Clarkson song)

"Because of You"
Song

"Because of You" is the fourth single from Breakaway, the second album by pop rock singer, Kelly Clarkson.

Writing inspiration

"Because Of You" was co-written by Clarkson, Ben Moody, and David Hodges, and produced by Moody and Hodges. The song is one of Clarkson's most personal as she originally wrote the lyrics when she was sixteen years old to deal with her emotional pain at the time. Clarkson has stated that although she has grown to overcome her pain through God, she can still relate to the pain of "Because of You". This song has proved to be a world-wide hit.

Years later when she met Moody and Hodges, Clarkson asked if they could write songs with her. She asked them to help her polish "Because of You" for the Breakaway album, but said that she would understand if they disliked the song and wanted to write a new song with her. Instead, both Moody and Hodges were impressed with the song, and along with Clarkson, they polished it into its final form. In this emotional autobiographical anthem, Clarkson laments her troubled family life as she sings:

"Because of you, I never stray too far from the sidewalk, because of you, I learn to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt, because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me. Because of you, I am afraid"

Music video

File:Becauseofyou.png

Clarkson singing about breaking a hurtful family cycle in "Because of You".

Music Video

As she had with "Behind These Hazel Eyes", Clarkson wrote the video's treatment herself; it was directed by Vadim Perelman. The video is based on a true story of Clarkson's troubled childhood (due to the nature of the video, she asked her parents for permission before it was created). The young Clarkson is played by the seven year old daughter of band member Jason Halbert.

The video starts off one afternoon at the Clarkson household. There, Kelly and her husband are engaged in a heated argument, and at one point he takes a picture of the family and threatens to smash it. However, he never gets the chance to, as time freezes still and her husband becomes immobile; Clarkson, however, is immune to this. Looking around the corners of her house, she sees a sight that surprises her: her younger self.

Hand in hand, the younger and older Clarkson relive Clarkson's troubled childhood as various painful memories are seen such as the younger Clarkson making a picture for her father to admire, which is then tossed into the sink, and Clarkson's mother making an unappreciated dinner for her father. These events drive her mother to the point of taking pills and crying publicly in front of the younger Clarkson.

The breaking point is finally seen when Clarkson's parents have a physical fight and throw objects at each other. Soon after, Clarkson's father packs his bags, as he is leaving the family; although the younger Clarkson tries to get him to stay, he pulls away. Filled with the memories of her past, the older Clarkson has seen enough and runs back in time to the present. There, time unfreezes and instead of fighting with her husband, they make up. Clarkson's daughter in the video can be seen walking around the corner. Clarkson has finally broken the cycle of having a dysfunctional family.

The music video of Because of You was officially released on TRL on October 3 2005. It debuted on October 4 2005 at the top of the countdown. It eventually became Clarkson's third retired video, and spent twenty-seven out of fifty days at number one. After debuting on MuchMusic's Countdown at number twenty-nine, it eventually ascended to the number one, On June 18 2006 The video also garnered Clarkson a MuchMusic Video Award for People's Choice Favorite International Artist.

Trivia

American Idol Season 5 contestant Lisa Tucker performed this song during the "Songs of the 21st Century" theme week. This marked the first time an American Idol winner's song was covered on the show. Australian Idol 3 Top 30 contestant Chloe Zuel also covered this song previously to Tucker on Australian Idol. Runner-up Floortje Smit from Season 3 of Idols in the Netherlands also covered this song. The judges had picked out the song for her. (Carrie Underwood holds the honour for covering a past Idol winner's song ever; Australian Idol Season 1 winner Guy Sebastian's debut single "Angels Brought Me Here.")

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	4
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	2
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Airplay	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs	6
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks	6
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	1 (6 weeks)
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Airplay	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	24
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1 (5 weeks)
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	4
Austria Singles Chart	3
Belgium UltraTop 50	5
Brazilian Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
Canadian BDS Airplay Chart	2
Danish Airplay Chart	1 (2 weeks)
Dutch Top 40	1 (2 weeks)
European Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
French Singles Chart	13
German Singles Chart	4
Irish Singles Chart	5
Indonesian Airplay Chart	1 (4 weeks)
Mexican Top 100 Airplay	13
Mexican Digital Sales Chart	1
South African Singles Chart	1 (1 week)
Swiss Singles Chart	1 (2 weeks)
UK Singles Chart	7
World Chart Show	1 (2 weeks)
MuchMusic Countdown	1
Total Request Live	1

Chart Trajectory

Billboard Hot 100 Chart trajectory
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37
Position	99	61	43	34	23	21	14	9	9	8	8	7	8	9	10	12	10	9	11	16	14	14	15	16	15	17	19	20	22	26	22	25	26	32	36	41	42

Canadian BDS Airplay Chart trajectory
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Position	80	64	49	36	19	12	8	7	6	5	4	4	3	2	2	3	3	5	4	4	4	8	7	9	11
Week	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
Position	12	15	16	16	18	18	21	21	20	21	21	29	27	25	30	28	37	33	28	29	27	29	29	43	47

UK Singles Chart
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Position	7	10	13	17	13	11	15	22	25	28	23	22	27	34	35	43	43	53	50	48	40	50	50	49	60

Australian ARIA Singles Chart Trajectory
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14
Position	4	7	9	9	8	8	9	11	21	26	25	24	34	40

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Because of You".

U.S. digital maxi single

• Versions of "Because of You"
  1. Jason Nevins radio
  2. Jason Nevins club mix
  3. Jason Nevins club with intro breakdown
  4. Jason Nevins dub
  5. Jason Nevins club instrumental
  6. Jason Nevins radio instrumental
  7. Jason Nevins remix — acoustic version without strings
  8. Jason Nevins acoustic
  9. Jason Nevins a capella