Miss Independent (Kelly Clarkson song)

"**Miss Independent**" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her debut studio album *Thankful* (2003). Written by Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Rhett Lawrence, and Matt Morris, with Lawrence serving as producer, it was released as the album's lead single by RCA Records on April 10, 2003, preceding its release by five days. The track was initially intended for Aguilera's fourth album, *Stripped* (2002), but was left half-finished. Lawrence later continued writing the song with Clarkson, who eventually recorded it.

"Miss Independent" is a R&B-styled pop song, whose lyrics tell of a story of an independent woman who finally allows herself to lower her emotional and communication barriers in order to fall in love. Its theme of self-sufficiency would later serve as a template for Clarkson's subsequent releases. The song generally received positive response from music critics, while criticism targeted the song's similarity to Aguilera's material. "Miss Independent" gave Clarkson her first Grammy nomination in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance category at the 46th Grammy Awards in 2004.

The song's commercial success helped in presenting Clarkson's "girl next door" image to the public and contributed in eliminating her *American Idol* persona. In the United States, "Miss Independent" peaked at number nine on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and number one on the Pop Songs chart. Internationally, the song attained top-10 positions in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The song's accompanying music video was directed by Liz Friedlander, and featured Clarkson singing at a house party. Clarkson premiered the song during the second season of *American Idol*, and has included it in set lists in most of her concert tours.

## Background and release

American record producer Rhett Lawrence first offered the early work of the song, titled "Miss Independence", to American R&B trio Destiny's Child, who turned down the offer to record the song. Lawrence then collaborated with Christina Aguilera and Matt Morris to record "Miss Independence" for Aguilera's fourth studio album *Stripped* (2002). However, the track was only half-recorded and without a bridge before Aguilera finished production on *Stripped*. The song was handed over to Clive Davis and Clarkson's then-manager Simon Fuller, who were looking for material for Clarkson's debut album *Thankful* (2003). Clarkson helped rewrite the song with Lawrence, during which time one of her A&R managers, Keith Naftaly, suggested the song be re-titled "Miss Independent". The song was one of four songs on *Thankful* that Clarkson co-wrote; the others were "The Trouble With Love Is", "You Thought Wrong", and the title track "Thankful".

There are conflicting reports of how the song was given to Clarkson. Davis said in *The Soundtrack of My Life* that it was Lawrence who passed the track without Aguilera's knowledge or approval. Clarkson—who was unaware of Aguilera or Morris' involvement until receiving the liner notes for *Thankful*—stated it was an A&R manager, who purposefully kept the information from her so she would not turn down the song; she said this to be the first example of "how people flat out lie or omit", and that what bothered her was that she had given interviews which made it look like she had written the song solely with Lawrence. Clarkson also claimed to *Bournemouth Daily Echo* that RCA did not want the song on the album, and she argued with the label "to the point of literally crying" to get the song on the record. In *The Soundtrack of My Life*, Davis claimed Aguilera was "distinctly miffed" Lawrence passed on the song without her knowledge, and only subsided when both "Miss Independent" and Aguilera's own song "Beautiful" were both nominated Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and "Beautiful" won. Though Davis says Aguilera was mad at Clarkson, Aguilera had earlier clarified she was not, and on *Total Request Live*, said the song was "a good choice for her... If the song was to go to anyone, I'm glad it went to you because you gave it justice."

"Miss Independent" was released to mainstream radio in the United States by RCA Records on April 10, 2003, five days ahead of *Thankful*'s release. It was later released as a separate CD single on May 25, before being released as a 7-inch single, a 12-inch single, and a digital download on September 23. In the United Kingdom, the song was released as a CD single on August 25; a maxi single was released in Austria and Germany by BMG on August 12. Most of the singles contained Clarkson's renditions of the songs "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", which was included on *Thankful*, and "Respect". In 2009, the song was made available for purchase as downloadable content for the *Rock Band*, *Rock Band 2*, and *Lego Rock Band* video games.