🚨 Kelly Clarkson releases "Where Have You Been?"

Kelly Clarkson is back—and so is NOTHING BUT CLARKSON. 😀

Hey fellow Clarkstan! 👋 Welcome to NOTHING BUT CLARKSON — a newsletter all about Emmy and Grammy winner (and rad human) Kelly Clarkson. This week was a big one, with Kelly releasing new music under her new record label.

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First, the elephant in the room…

Yes, I’ve been neglecting this newsletter. 😬 Unfortunately life this past year has been so busy.

Work. Volunteer gigs. A social life. It was getting a bit too much, so I decided to take a quick break…. and that “quick” break turned into a year.

I feel bad about it because Kelly has been doing some awesome stuff. Her talk show continues to thrive. And she’s had some great musical collaborations, including that amazing “DJ Play a Christmas Song” remix with Cher. I’m really sorry that I haven’t been able to cover these things!

Not sure if I can promise a certain cadence, but I plan on putting some time on this newsletter again, especially because Kelly has new music again.

With that said, let’s get on with it!

Kelly Clarkson releases “Where Have You Been”

After months of dropping hints here and there, Kelly finally released “Where Have You Been” on Friday, May 2. It’s her first single under her new record label, High Roads Records.

A collaboration with her guitarist Jaco Caraco, the song is sultry, sexy and of course soulful. It starts slow and gentle (reminiscent a bit if “Slow Dance” from Meaning of Life), and builds to a soaring bridge and final chorus.

Needless to say, Kelly’s vocals are on point. This is a mature sound for her—a natural evolution from her past 2 albums.

The Meryl Streep Connection

Kelly is famously known for being a huge Meryl Streep fan. So it’s interesting that “Where Have You Been” has a connection with the Oscar-winning actress.

A scene between Martin Short and Streep inspired Kelly to write the song. On her SiriusXM channel, The Kelly Clarkson Connection, Kelly said:

“I’ve rarely done something like this, but I was watching Only Murders in the Building — it’s Martin Short’s face. He says to Meryl Streep’s character in the show, ‘Where have you been?’…He’s like in awe, and I was like, ‘Has anyone written a song?’ Because the song is happy. It’s like you found something that you thought was almost basically a unicorn and did not exist.” (Source: RollingStone)

In a digital exclusive for The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kelly and Jaco talked about the writing of the song. It’s a fun watch — they even shared a voice note that Kelly sent Jaco at one point. I love this duo, and I hope we get more collaborations from them in the future!

Also: A Music Video 😮

I loved ‘chemistry.’ The album is her most personal yet, and the writing was spectacular. But one thing we didn’t get from her during that era is a proper music video.

Not this time!

The “Where Have You Been” music video is classy, but also sexy. There’s no plot, but we get a lot of shots of Kelly looking hot AF. I feel very happy for the Kezbos. 😂

The best thing about the video? It’s that the band also got a fair amount of exposure. For Kelly, these people are family, and she’s creating amazing music and art with them. I totally love it!

As of this writing, the music already has closer to 700K views on YouTube. (The song has also risen to #1 on iTunes US.) Kelly stopped caring about charts, but this is pretty amazing for someone who’s already been in the biz for more than 20 years. So proud of her!

Thoughts on Kelly Clarkson’s “Where Have You Been?”

Love it? Hate it? Sound off below!

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Lyrics: “Where Have You Been” by Kelly Clarkson

[Verse 1]
I like my freedom but I'd trade some for a kiss
Little do you know how long I've been waitin' for this
When it came to my hopes, well, they left, skies I won't miss
I was getting so lonely I didn't count on, count on this

[Chorus]
Where have you been?
What took so long?
I thought I'd found you
Found out I was wrong
I almost gave up
My light was so dim
And now, here you are
Where have you been?

[Verse 2]
I felt it from the moment you walked in the room (Ah-ah)
Nothing could keep my eyes from driftin' over to you (Ah-ah)
When it came to the wild love, I wondered what it meant
And then you show up making me beliеve again

[Chorus]
Where havе you been? (Where have you been?)
What took so long? (What took so long?)
I thought I'd found you (I thought I'd found you)
Found out I was wrong (Found out I was wrong)
I almost gave up (I almost gave up)
My light was so dim (My light was so dim)
And now, here you are (Out here you are)
Oh, where have you been? (Where have you been?)
Where have you been?

[Bridge]
Ah-ah
Ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah

[Chorus]
Where have you been?
What took so long?
I thought I'd found you
But I found out I was wrong
Oh, yeah, yeah

[Outro]
Ah-ah
Ah-ah
Found out I was wrong, yeah
Ah-ah
Ah-ah
Where have you been?
Where have you been?
Ah-ah
Where have you been?

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ONE LAST THING…

Go stream “Where Have You Been” by Kelly Clarkson on your favorite streaming app!