Background and Writing
"My biggest song worldwide is Because of You, and … you may as well grab a knife. That song really is the most depressing one I've ever written. I tried to get it on Thankful, and was laughed at and told I wasn't a good writer. So then I tried to get it on Breakaway – and the label saw the results, people responding to it, and allowed it to become a single. Then took credit for its success, of course."
—Clarkson on trying to get the track into her album, Thankful."Because of You" was written by Clarkson, David Hodges and Ben Moody while the production was handled by Hodges and Moody. They also wrote and produced another track entitled "Addicted" that appeared in Clarkson's album Breakaway (2004). Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old as a means of coping with the emotional distress caused by the divorce of her parents. She wrote the lyrics of the song in less than 25 minutes.
In an interview with The Guardian, Clarkson said that she wanted to include the song in her first album, Thankful (2003), but she was laughed at. Then, she took the initiative to polish the song by sending a tape to Moody and worked with Hodges as her songwriting partner. Clarkson explained, "Hearing the Evanescence album, you can obviously tell that David and Ben have a real passion for music and that big kind of background. And I have a big voice and I like the music to match it, so it was a real dream team."
According to Moody, he was very impressed with Clarkson and the song itself, saying "She had these ideas already in place for songs; all I really had to do was build music around them and develop them. It was quite easy." Clarkson also admitted that "Because of You" is the most depressing song she has ever written. Despite the revelation, she told Entertainment Weekly in August 2011 that she wanted to be remembered for the song because she had to work hard to get it on Breakaway (2004) when everyone was against it. She added, "I think I’m most proud of that song – just getting it on an album because no one liked it until it hit no. 1 worldwide and everybody was on board."
Read more about this topic: Because Of You (Kelly Clarkson Song)
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