Miss Independent (Kelly Clarkson song)

"Miss Independent"
Single by Kelly Clarkson
From the album Thankful
Released	2003
Format	Airplay only
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:34
Label	RCA
Writers	Kelly Clarkson Rhett Lawrence Christina Aguilera Matt Morris
Producer	Rhett Lawrence
Certification	Gold
Chart positions	#9 (US) #6 (UK) #3 (AU) #6 (CAN)
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology
"A Moment Like This" (2002)	"Miss Independent" (2003)	"Low" (2003)

"Miss Independent" is the second single from pop rock singer, Kelly Clarkson's multi-platinum debut album, Thankful.

Song information

The single was co-written by Clarkson, Rhett Lawrence, Christina Aguilera, and Matt Morris and produced by Lawrence. The release of the song sparked some controversy. The producer and co-writer of the track, Lawrence, had originally given the song to Destiny's Child. After they did not record it, the song became available, and Aguilera began to co-write with Lawrence on the track. Lawrence was later informed that Aguilera was not going to finish and use the song because she had found another rock style song that she preferred. Two years later, Lawrence played the song for Clarkson. They finished the lyrics and made new additions to the song, and used it as her first single. The producer was pleased because he had long believed that his song would be a hit when combined with a great singer (Destiny's Child, Aguilera, Clarkson). Although Lawrence was never in any way asked, informally or officially, to hold or save the song for Aguilera, Aguilera was not pleased with this, and at one point there was talk of a possible lawsuit. However, the event never materialized due to the matter being settled. In an interesting turn of events, the rock style song Aguilera preferred two years earlier, titled "Fighter", was released in the U.S. as a single the same time as "Miss Independent", with "Miss Independent" becoming the more successful single.

In this rhythmic pop rock number, Clarkson laments a woman, known only as "Miss Independent", who surprisingly gains inner strength when she allows herself to fall in love.

Chart success

"Miss Independent" performed strongly on the Billboard charts, and managed to peak at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. Although many saw this as relatively low, it should be noted that the single came out at the time that the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay was changing to include fewer top-forty stations, and more R&B and rhythmic stations. The single also did not have a commercial release on vinyl or CD-single forms to give it a boost on the charts. The single was released as a digital download, and became a hit, peaking at number two on Hot Digital Tracks. However, digital downloads would not count towards the chart until 2005, thus they did not help her Hot 100 position. The song was a smash on top-forty radio formats, and peaked at number one for six weeks on Top 40 Mainstream and an equal six weeks on the Top 40 Tracks.

Internationally, the song was also a hit. In Canada, it reached a peak of number six, as it also did in the United Kingdom. In Australia, the song was incredibly popular, reaching number three for several weeks.

Music video

The music video of "Miss Independent" shows Clarkson singing at a house party. Some believe that the complicated plot of the song is not translated into the video, and the video was met with some criticism. Some of the public was also unpleased with the fact that Clarkson had been forced to change her "girl next door" Texan image to become sexier for her first official video. However, due to its puzzling concept, the video appeared on the yearly MuchMusic program, Fromage (French for "cheese"). On this countdown composed of "cheesy" music videos, "Miss Independent" came second to Britney Spears' single, "Me Against the Music".

Another video was made for the UK, in it Kelly Clarkson was shown above different buildings of Europe, holding a microphone in every scene, wearing a pink top, and singing her hit "Miss Independent". Most of the shots are only close-ups, and Kelly, and only her, appears on the video.

Comprehensive charts

Chart (2003)	Peak Position	Year End Position
U.K. Singles Chart	6	-
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	3	53[1]
Canadian Singles Chart	6	-
World Chart Show	7	-
Billboard Hot 100	9	44
Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	10	44
Hot Digital Tracks	2	-
Top 40 Tracks	1	14
Top 40 Mainstream	1	-
Adult Top 40	14	31
Adult Contemporary	28	-
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1 (5 Weeks)	5

Chart trajectory

US Hot 100 trajectory — "Miss Independent" — Top 100
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Chart position	61	46	30	22	19	17	16	12	12	9	9	10	13	18	17	22	30	34	35	43

UK Singles Chart trajectory — "Miss Independent" — Top 75
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10
Chart position	6	10	16	24	33	33	45	70	72	75

Canadian Singles Chart trajectory — "Miss Independent" — Top 100
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
Chart position	16	16	12	9	9	7	6	6	6	7	6	15	21	28	34	39	55	68	63	64	77	85	91	96	88	94

Australian ARIA Singles Chart
Week	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14
Position	17	8	9	10	9	13	15	9	3	5	13	15	29	47