Critical and Commercial Reaction
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com | |
| AllMusic | |
| The Boston Globe | (mixed) |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| The Guardian | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Slant Magazine | |
| Spin | (7/10) |
| Sputnikmusic | |
| Stylus Magazine | B |
The first single, "Never Again", was released on April 13 in the U.S., and despite debuting in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to strong digital sales, it never achieved substantial airplay and was pulled from many stations only a couple of weeks following its release.
Otherwise, the album opened successfully. In spite of its uncommercial nature, its opening week sales were comparable to those of Clarkson's first two albums.
Many fans reacted positively to the preview of the album. On sites like Clarkson's official website, AOL, iTunes and Rolling Stone, customer reviews currently average 4 out of 5 stars.
In spite of all the controversy surrounding My December, the album has garnered fairly positive reviews from professionals and critics as well.
Slant Magazine reviewed My December mostly positive, with the album receiving a 3.5/5 star review, equivalent to the score given to Breakaway. An excerpt from the review, in response to the disappointing performance of "Never Again", reads, "But who cares about hits—or appeasing the kids—when the songs are this good?"
The Times writes: "Clarkson has the moxie to rock without worrying about what anybody else thinks... Her gift is finding the source of vitality in absolute mainstream, people-pleasing pop, which by its nature breaks stylistic rules in favor of magpie mash-ups, bold appropriations and happy accidents."
AllMusic, however, gave a more lukewarm review, giving it 3/5 stars, saying "It's what Kelly wanted to do, so on that level it's a success, and one that listeners who share her viewpoint (and quite likely her age) will respond to but for everybody else, My December is a disappointment." Commenting on Clarkson's feud with the record label, they also claim, "My December proves that both camps were correct: Davis is correct that there are no big crossover hits here, yet it's also true that this is an artistic move that Clarkson needed to make. If left up to Davis, she would simply be another vocalist singing professional product."
Rolling Stone, giving a similar lukewarm review, writes, "Clarkson clobbers you over the head with her emotions and arena-ready choruses. The result is a record that's bland in some spots and annoying in others." However, Rolling Stone praised the album for tracks such as "How I Feel", "Irvine" and "Yeah", noting that Clarkson may have another "'Since U Been Gone' in her yet".
It was suggested that so much controversy could hinder the sales of Clarkson's new album. M. Tye Corner of AOL music says that so much controversy could "affect sales a bit in the first few weeks and when the record comes out," but he thinks that Clarkson will still "come out on the top."
The album scored 64/100 on Metacritic indicating generally positive reviews.
Read more about this topic: My December
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