Since U Been Gone - Background and Writing

Background and Writing

"I went to Max Martin's studio in Sweden. We recorded it there with Max and the co-writer of the song, Lukasz Gottwald. The first time I heard the song I thought it was a little poppy, so I asked if we could rock the track a little. We put some heavier guitars and harder drums on it. Now it's explosive."

— Clarkson's first impression of "Since U Been Gone".

In an interview for Blender, Martin and Dr. Luke revealed that they had originally intended Pink to sing "Since U Been Gone", however, she turned it down. Dr. Luke also explained that Hilary Duff's management was interested in the song but rejected it because Duff could not reach the song's higher notes. It was Clive Davis who convinced Martin and Dr. Luke to give the song to Clarkson, even though they were initially reluctant. Davis said, "Max was looking to move on from what he had done with Backstreet Boys, and I really spent time convincing them that an 'American Idol' winner could bring all the feeling and passion that was required to the song." According to MTV, Clarkson had already finished recording her materials for her second album, Breakaway in late 2004 when she was advised by her A&R to fly to Sweden to meet with Martin and Dr. Luke. Both Martin and Dr. Luke were associated with pop music but they wanted to produce rock songs. Realizing that her record was more into the rock, Clarkson finally agreed to collaborate with them." In an interview with Billboard, Dr. Luke explained the genesis of "Since U Been Gone", saying

"That was a conscious move by Max and myself, because we were listening to alternative and indie music and talking about some song - I don't remember what it was. I said, 'Ah, I love this song,' and Max was like, 'If they would just write a damn pop chorus on it!' It was driving him nuts, because that indie song was sort of on six, going to seven, going to eight, the chorus comes . . . and it goes back down to five. It drove him crazy. And when he said that, it was like, light bulb. 'Why don't we do that, but put a big chorus on it?' It worked."

"Since U Been Gone" was the last track that Clarkson recorded for Breakaway; it was recorded in Sweden. At first, Clarkson was not fully convinced at the prospect of recording the song saying, "It didn't have any lyrics and the melody really wasn't finalized the track was done on a computer, there was no band on it. My record label was freaking out about it and I was, like, why?" Clarkson also explained that when she first heard "Since U Been Gone", she felt that it sounded a little bit pop for her direction and she decided to tweak the song musically by incorporating drums and guitars. Clarkson told MTV that the song is about a relationship turned sour although it was going well at the very beginning. The song was officially released to radio stations on November 16, 2004 as the second single of Breakaway.