1.5 very poor

Dave de Sylvia STAFF | July 3rd 07

As any artist will testify, the greatest challenge they'll ever face is the jump from playing other people's music to writing and performing your own unique material. With My December, Kelly Clarkson made just this leap- but, musically, it hasn't paid off. My December stays cautiously within the lines drawn by its 8x-platinum Breakaway, mimicking the Avril Lavigne-inspired angsty light rock blueprint so perfected by Max Martin with 'Behind These Hazel Eyes' and 'Since U Been Gone'- 'Never Again' attempts to duplicate the latter but, though one of the strongest cuts on the disc, pales in comparison. The album's best moments come when Kelly breaks her self-imposed mould, ditches the loud guitars and allows her stunning voice to take hold- closing couplet 'Irvine' and 'Chivas' (hidden) are jazzy, exotic and genuinely moving, while second single 'Sober' is riveting despite the conspicuous lack of a radio-friendly hook. These moments are too few and too scattered to justify continued listening to the entire album, however. 1 Bumps | Bump

4.5 superb

rockosmodurnlife | October 3rd 07

I read a lot of the pre-release nonsense and a lot about how the first single was failing (I don't listen to the radio) because i really liked Breakaway and wanted to see what she would do next. The tunes weren't catchy at first but I can't deny that I kept coming back to the album. So I disagree with the reviewer. This is a good album, a reason for the continued existence of the album format over the single format, from front to back, first track to last track. I'd put good money on people just coming out of relationships enjoying the melancholy pop more than others. A step down from Breakaway but a good step. A good bet on it paying off for future releases. Bump

2.5 average	Muskmellon | September 12th 07
Kelly Ckarkson has one of the great voices in pop music. Kelly Clarkson wants to be a rock singer. At this point in her career she does not sound like a person who can sing rock with conviction. We'll see. Bump

5.0 classic	et0730 | July 11th 07
The album has many strong songs (One Minute, Sober, Judas, Haunted, Be Still , Maybe, Yeah, and especially Irvine) and I believe that it is unfair to give it such a low rating when so many songs are worth hearing. I believe that she doesn't need Clive Davis to make music... she needs to grow as an artist and songwriter and wants to do it alone!!! Bump

0.0

katnyc73 | June 27th 07

This is the first time I have come to this site and I always appreciate others opinion especially when it comes to music. Like art music is very subjective. I agree with one of the posters that though the review is thorough it does come off as "this is why I hate this c.d."Will this be as popular and sell as much as Breakaway? More than likely not but I give KC a lot of respect for making an album she wanted to make. And I think the biggest misconception about this album is that it is getting horrible reviews across the board. Not true my friends. I find it amazing that pop artists consitantly get a lot of flack for not branching out and writing their own songs. But once the pop artist does, the backlash comes swift and usually hard. What you can also appreciate about Clarkson is she never did was what many female pop artists have done and that is complained that she could never be herself creativley and she was molded into something she is not nor has she bit the hand that originally fed her (American Idol). She just wanted to go in another direction which I think is more than people probably expected from her. If My December does not become a commercial hit, I truly hope this does not disuade kelly from exploring her musical talents on future projects. That would be probably the biggest let down. Bump