Kelly Clarkson's "Miss Independent"

Miss Independent is a song for which Kelly Clarkson has taken a lot of critical grief, which is undeserved. The song is a powerful expression of a woman who has cut herself off from her emotions, only to find herself drawn into a relationship.

Let's start with the critics. first, the main song they compare it to Christina Aguilera's Dirrty, which is on a level of comparing it to Can't Get Next to You, aka nothing like it:



Admittedly, Miss Independent was co-written by Aguilera, but that doesn't make it a rip-off of Dirrty.

In fact, as much as Clarkson herself credits Aguilera, note that Clarkson herself has a co-writing credit on it. One can argue how much of Miss Independent belongs to each singer, but the fact is that Aguilera dropped it from her album, and Clarkson picked it up, finished it, and recorded it.

If anything, Miss Independent is closer to Aguilera's Fighter:




Even if you make that comparison, it is a reasonable (albeit subjective) argument to call Miss Independent superior to Fighter. Miss Independent went all the way to number 1 on the Billboard Mainstream top 40 chart, while Fighter only reached number 5 on the same chart in the same year, 2003.

The true virtue of Miss Independent lies in its contrast between the mid-tempo R&B verses, and the powerful rock ballad chorus, which is enhanced by Clarkson's vocals, which are reminiscent of Tina Turner or Aretha Franklin, by Clarkson's ability to bring emotion to everything she sings here.

On the topic of the emotions presented, Clarkson sings the initial verses with an almost flirty sound to her voice, allowing the listener to imagine a life of dating without intention, just playing around while fully planning to stay single:

Miss independent
Miss self-sufficient
Miss keep your distance
Miss unafraid
Miss out of my way
Miss don't let a man interfere, no
Miss on her own
Miss almost grown
Miss never let a man help her off her throne
So, by keeping her heart protected
She'd never ever feel rejected
Little miss apprehensive
Said ooh, she fell in love

That last line explains, and leads into, the chorus, which hits some high energy notes even as it displays how love turns her world upside-down:

What is the feelin' takin' over?
Thinkin' no one could open my door
Surprise, It's time
To feel what's real
What happened to Miss Independent?
No more the need to be defensive
Goodbye, old you
When love is true

Clarkson carries the emotional heft of showing both regret at the loss of her previous life, along with a recognition of things being better than before. The "loss" is a bit tongue-in-cheek, and you can almost hear Clarkson grinning as she sings the chorus.

But the part that Clarkson specifically wrote for the song was the slow tempo bridge, which really carries the emotional heft of lifting the singer from her old life to her new, better life:

When Miss Independence walked away
No time for love that came her way
She looked in the mirror and thought today
What happened to miss no longer afraid?
It took some time for her to see
How beautiful love could truly be
No more talk of why can't that be me
I'm so glad I finally see 

This bridge is like a peak into the singer's heart, underneath the rest of this very glossy and well-produced song. The line "What happened to miss no longer afraid?" is especially poignant, as it displays how truly scary love can be. Opening one's self up to the dangerous emotional possibilities of love IS scary, but with a huge payoff when successful, as shown by the line, "How beautiful love could truly be".

The song appropriately finishes with the chorus, leaving the listener on a high note.

Miss Independent was a tentpole to Clarkson's career. While her victory in the first season of American Idol brought her to public attention, Miss Independent showed that Clarkson was more than just a great voice, showing she could bring both songwriting and heart to her music.