Since U Been Gone

"Since U Been Gone"
File:SUBG.jpg
Single by Kelly Clarkson
From the album Breakaway
Released	December 14 2004 (U.S., Canada)
Format	Digital download Digital maxi single
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:09
Label	RCA
Writers	Max Martin Dr. Luke
Producers	Max Martin Dr. Luke
Certification	6x platinum
Chart positions	#1 (CAN) #2 (US) #3 (AU) #5 (UK)
Kelly Clarkson singles chronology
"Breakaway" (2004)	"Since U Been Gone" (2004)	"Behind These Hazel Eyes" (2005)

"Since U Been Gone" is the second single (the first in Europe) from Breakaway, the second album by pop rock singer Kelly Clarkson.

Released at the end of 2004, the single enjoyed considerable success in 2005, peaking at number two in the United States and becoming Clarkson's fourth top-ten single. Having been written off by some as the "American Idol girl", "Since U Been Gone" helped Clarkson disassociate herself from this image. The song is one of the best-selling singles of 2005, and is the best-selling digital download single. The song won Clarkson a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2006.

Song information

The single was co-written and co-produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Although Clarkson had previously had hit singles, her previous few singles had performed poorly in the charts ("Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is"), and with her fellow American Idol participant, Justin Guarini, who had been dropped by the label they shared after similar chart performance, industry critics speculated that Clarkson's career would go the same way. To avert this, Clarkson decided she needed more control over her career and the direction of her music, and with the help of a lawyer and advice from another American Idol participant, Clay Aiken, she was able to get out of her contract and move in the direction of pop rock.

After this change, Clarkson had nearly completed a new album, but still faced the problem of what her first single should be (her previous single "Breakaway" was only considered to have been a stopgap). Originally, she had entertained the notion of using some songs that she had written with Ben Moody and David Hodges, formerly of Evanescence, but her label felt that the songs were a bit too dark for a first single. After a suggestion from a friend, Clarkson went to Sweden, where she met up with producers Max Martin and Dr. Luke.

Although Martin had been successful in previous years for his pop singles with Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, the music industry had pigeonholed him as a pop producer. As a result of this, and with the nature of top-forty music changing, Martin's career had slowed down, and it had been hard for him to find new production work. Originally, he did not want to work with Clarkson, as he felt she had wanted him to recreate his pop sound for her records. Clarkson, however, had become aware of Martin's history with rock, as although he was best known as a pop producer, he had rock and roll roots as a former member of a heavy metal band, and he had also produced other rock singles before, including Bon Jovi's song, "It's My Life".

Once Martin and Clarkson discovered that they both were in agreement concerning the rock direction of the music, they set out to write songs together. A song that had previously been written by Martin and Dr. Luke, however, caught the attention of Clarkson. The song was relayed to her label executives, and "Since U Been Gone" was unanimously agreed to be the first single. Clarkson still had to deal with Martin's slight pop edges, as originally the song had even a greater pop influence, until Clarkson asked for a slightly harder rock feel with increased drums.

With the success of "Since U Been Gone", Clarkson's career became settled, as she was able to define the new pop rock sound that she had only previously touched on. The single also helped Clarkson to appeal to new international markets; previously her main markets had been in Western countries like the United States and Canada. Credit is also given to this song for reviving the once stagnant careers of Max Martin and Dr. Luke. In essence, the song recalls a failed relationship with relief, as Clarkson declares in the song: "Since you've been gone, I can breathe for the first time."

Many critics have noted the song bears resemblance to indie rock darlings The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Songwriter Ted Leo performed an acoustic cover of the song, which featured a snippet of the chorus from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps".

Chart performance

"Since U Been Gone" remains the biggest hit of Clarkson's career, and one of the biggest hits of 2005. The song's rock and roll-edge mixed with the typical pop helped to make the song reach number one on several charts, such as the Pop 100, the Pop 100 Airplay, Hot Digital Tracks, the Dance Radio Airplay, and the Mainstream Top 40. It didn't, however, reach number one on the Hot 100, peaking at number two. (It was kept off the top spot by 50 Cent's "Candy Shop".)

Although it never topped the Hot 100, it had showed longevity by staying in the top ten of the Hot 100 for twenty weeks, the second most for a single in 2005. (Only Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" had more, with 23 weeks in the top ten.) In the end, it had a long and successful run on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for forty-six weeks (nearly a full year since the song first charted in December 2004).

The song also became notable when it reached the top ten while her previous single, "Breakaway", was also still there. (And in turn her next single, "Behind These Hazel Eyes", reached the top ten while "Since U Been Gone" was still there.) Digitally speaking, "Since U Been Gone" proved to be the biggest-selling digital download of all time, being certified six times platinum in March 2006 for selling over 1,200,000 digital downloads.

On another popular American music chart (but not official), the ARC Weekly Top 40, Clarkson's song broke the longevity record in the twenty-five-year history of the chart, spending eight non-consecutive weeks at number one (being briefly interrupted by Green Day's number-one single, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"), and remaining on the chart for a record-breaking thirty-three weeks (or a little over eight months). At the end of the year, Clarkson set a new record as she had 3 of the Top 5 singles of the year ("Since U Been Gone" #2, "Because of You" #3, and "Behind These Hazel Eyes" #4).

The song was also popular worldwide, reaching number one in Canada for two weeks, number three in Australia, and number five in the United Kingdom. "Since U Been Gone" became Clarkson's first song to peak within the top-five of the major music markets worldwide.

The song's longetivity on the charts proved to be a powerful factor as it ranked fourth on the 2005 Billboard year end charts, the highest position of the year for a single that didn't reach #1, and was even ranked higher than most singles that hit #1 throughout the year.

The song won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Clarkson's first win in the category after being nominated for "Miss Independent" in 2003.

Music video

The video for "Since U Been Gone" is relatively simple, and follows the main theme of the song. In the video, Clarkson is seen at an ex-boyfriend's apartment looking through some items. She thinks about the past, but thinks about how much happier she is since he's been gone, and goes on to wreck the apartment. The video is intercut with scenes of Clarkson performing with her band for an energetic crowd. The video ends with Clarkson slyly leaving her ex's apartment, just as he and his new girlfriend enter the apartment and are shocked to find the mess.

The video won Clarkson the Best Female Video and Best Pop Video awards at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, beating artists such as Mariah Carey ("We Belong Together") and Gwen Stefani ("Hollaback Girl").

Formats and tracklistings

These are the formats and tracklistings of major single-releases of "Since U Been Gone".

U.S. digital maxi single

(Released March 22 2005)

1. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Rock Da Club edit)
2. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Ambient Candlelight mix)
3. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Mixshow)
4. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins club mix)
5. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins dub)
6. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins radio edit instrumental)
7. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins radio edit acapella)
8. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins reprise)

U.K. CD single

(Released July 4 2005)

1. "Since U Been Gone" (album version)
2. "Since U Been Gone" (AOL live version)

U.K. CD maxi single

(Released July 4, 2005)

1. "Since U Been Gone" (album version)
2. "Miss Independent" (AOL live version)
3. "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Mixshow)
4. "Since U Been Gone" (Video)

Australian CD single

(Released March 1 2005)

1. "Since U Been Gone" (album version)
2. "Since U Been Gone" (AOL live version)
3. "Miss Independent" (AOL live version)

Charts

File:Since You've Been Gone.jpg

Clarkson in a scene from the single's music video, which presented her with a rock-influenced sound that was not heard on her previous efforts.

Chart (2005)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2
U.S. Billboard Hot Single Recurrents	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	4
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Airplay	1
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play1	22
U.S. Dance Radio Airplay	1
U.S. Hot Digital Songs	2
U.S. Hot Digital Tracks	1
U.S. Top 40 Mainstream	1
U.S. Top 40 Tracks	8
U.S. Adult Top 40	2
U.S. Adult Contemporary	22
ARC Weekly Top 40	1
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	3
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Dutch Singles Chart	4
Indonesian Singles Chart	1
Singapore Top 20 Airplay	1
South African Singles Chart	1
U.K. Singles Chart	5
World Chart Show	2

¹ J. Nevins remixes

Billboard Hot 100 Chart trajectory — weeks one to thirty
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
Chart position	70	53	38	32	32	22	20	16	9	9	9	8	7	6	5	4	2	3	3	5	6	8	9	8	7	9	9	9	12	15

Billboard Hot 100 Chart trajectory — weeks thirty-one to forty-six
Week	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46
Chart position	20	25	29	32	28	27	28	31	33	27	30	33	36	37	41	43

U.K. Top 75 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	26	27	28	29	30
Position	5	6	7	6	5	7	7	13	17	23	31	41	52	50	53	54	56	60	61	62	65	56	60	49	51	36	39	52	56	63

U.K. Top 75 Singles Chart
Week	31	32	33	34	35	36	37
Position	68	63	66	57	71	68	73

Canadian Singles Chart trajectory — Top 60
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
Chart position	29	24	20	13	10	10	8	6	5	3	2	1	1	4	12	14	24	27	32	34	34	39	37	43	49	53	55	59	56	58