Thankful (Kelly Clarkson album)

Thankful
Studio album by Kelly Clarkson
Released	April 15, 2003
Recorded	2002–03
Genre	Pop[1]
Label	RCA 19 S
Producer	Clive Davis (exec.), Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Matthew Wilder, Steve Ferrera, The Underdogs, Babyface, Louis Biancaniello, Sam Watters, Steve Mac, Desmond Child, Cathy Dennis
Kelly Clarkson chronology
Thankful (2003) Breakaway (2004)
Singles from Thankful
"Miss Independent" Released: April 10, 2003 "Low" Released: August 3, 2003 "The Trouble with Love Is" Released: November 12, 2003

Thankful is the debut album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson, released in the United States by RCA Records on April 15, 2003 (see 2003 in music). "Miss Independent" was its first single, followed by "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is". Initially, the album had been scheduled to be released in November 2002, however, Clarkson's demanding schedule and difficulty finding tracks that suited her taste and image forced the album to be delayed several times.^[2] By the time the album was released, over six months had elapsed since "A Moment Like This" had reached number one.

The album debuted at number one on the American Billboard 200 selling 297,000 copies. "Miss Independent" went on to be a Top 10 hit in the US. The album went on to be certified triple platinum, with almost 3 million copies shipped. Thankful had sold 2,745,000 copies in the U.S.^[3] In Canada Thankful was certified platinum for 100,000 copies shipped.^[4]

Background

Two songs originally on the album, "Trace of Gold" and "Today for Me", written by Stephanie Saraco, were replaced just before the album release by "Anytime" and "A Moment Like This". Early released versions of the CD still show the original tracks on players that read the data from the CD itself (such as Windows Media Player). The two songs have yet to be heard by the general public. Copies of Thankful sold during its first year of release contained a computer program that could be loaded, and used with the internet for artist updates and music videos. The program ceased to function when her official RCA website was launched. Thankful included three cover tracks, "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" originally by Aretha Franklin, "Some Kind of Miracle" originally sung by Puff Johnson and "Just Missed the Train" by Trine Rein. "Just Missed the Train" was previously covered by Danielle Brisebois and Carly Smithson (then Carly Hennessy), who worked on much of her album with Brisebois.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
E! Online	B[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
The Guardian	[7]
Jam!	(mixed)[8]
Q	[5]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Slant Magazine	[10]
USA Today	[11]

Critical response for Thankful were generally positive. On Metacritic, a website that compiles various reviews, the album received a score of 62, indicating generally favorable reviews.^[5] Entertainment Weekly noted that "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades".^[6] Rolling Stone gave the album three out of five stars, praising Clarkson's talent and vocal abilities, while criticizing the album for feeling manufactured. They note that "[her] high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her midrange is amazingly confident for a pop posy whose career is tied for eternity to the whims of her American Idol overlords".^[9]

On the other hand, Q gave the album a very negative review, stating that the album "has her trilling like Mariah Carey on fluffy R&B tunes."^[5]

Commercial performance

Release of the album was preceded by the single "Miss Independent", which become a top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit and a number one top 40 smash. In thanks to the success of the single, as well as buzz from her American Idol win (Clarkson also appeared several times on the show's second season to promote Thankful), the album sold well in the United States. It managed to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 with 297,000 copies sold. The album sold over 1 million copies in six weeks.^[12] According to Nielsen SoundScan, Thankful has sold 2,776,000 copies to date in the US.^[3]

Further single releases "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is" did not replicate the success of the previous single. "Just Missed the Train" and "You Thought Wrong" had been planned for possible single releases, but after the underperformance of "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is", they were canceled.^[13]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Trouble with Love Is"	Kelly Clarkson, Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken	Rogers, Sturken	3:41
2.	"Miss Independent"	Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Rhett Lawrence, Matt Morris	Lawrence	3:34
3.	"Low"	Jimmy Harry	Clif Magness	3:28
4.	"Some Kind of Miracle"	Diane Warren	Steve Ferrera, Lawerence	3:38
5.	"What's Up Lonely"	Rogers, Struken, Stephanie Saraco	Rogers, Sturken	4:08
6.	"Just Missed the Train"	Danielle Brisebois, Scott Cutler	Magness	4:10
7.	"Beautiful Disaster"	Rebekah Jordan, Matthew Wilder	Wilder	4:10
8.	"You Thought Wrong" (featuring Tamyra Gray)	Clarkson, Babyface, Gray, Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas	The Underdogs and Face	3:49
9.	"Thankful"	Clarkson, Babyface, Mason, Thomas	The Underdogs and Face	3:00
10.	"Anytime"	Louis Biancaniello, Sam Watters	Biancaniello, Wattes	4:05
11.	"A Moment Like This"	Jörgen Elofsson, John Reid	Ferrera, Steve Mac	3:48
12.	"Before Your Love"	Desmond Child, Cathy Dennis, Gary Burr	Child, Dennis	3:59

Japanese bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	Carole King, Gerald Wexler, Gerry Goffin	2:36

Credits and personnel

• Vocals - Kelly Clarkson
• Background Vocals - Kelly Clarkson, Suzie Benson, Danielle Brisebois, Debra Byrd, Sharlotte Gibson, Mary Griffin, Rebekah Jordan, Cindy Mizelle, Conesha Owens, Evan Rogers, Aiesha Wright, Betty Wright, Jeanette Wright, Sam Watters, Chris Willis, Leslie Smith
• Guitar - Chris Camozzi, Pathik Desai, Paul Gendler, Corky James, Clif Magness, Rhett Lawrence, Tim Pierce, Olle Romo, Matthew Wilder, Dan Warner
• Bass - Mike Elizondo, Randy Jackson, Clif Magness, Steve Pearce, Tommy Sims
• Keyboards - Doug Emery, Clif Magness, Louis Biancaniello, Steve Mac, Carl Sturken
• Percussion - Steve Ferrera
• Piano - Jim Gasior, Clif Magness, Matthew Wilder
• Violin - Charlie Bisharat, Bruce Dukov, Ghislaine Fleishman, Berj Garabedian, Peter Kent, Emma Kummrow, Charlene Kwas, Charles Parker, Michele Richards, Gregory Teperman, John Wittenberg, Ken Yerke
• String and Horn Arrangements - David Campbell
• Viola - Bob Becker, Darrin McCann, Peter Nocella, David Young
• Cello - Larry Corbett, Jennie Lorenzo, Dan Smith
• Organ - Kenneth Crouch
• Concert Master - Joel Derouin
• French horn - Rick Todd
• DJ - Rhett Lawrence, Wayne Rodrigues
• Scratching - Rhett Lawrence, Wayne Rodrigues
• Drums - Teddy Campbell, Steve Ferrera, Abe Laboriel, Jr., Lee Levin, Josh Freese
• Executive Producer - Clive Davis
• Production Coordination - Brian Coleman, Andrea Derby, Jolie Levine-Aller
• Producer - Louis Biancaniello, Desmond Child, Cathy Dennis, Steve Ferrera, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Steve Mac, Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Sam Watters, Matthew Wilder
• Engineer - Louis Biancaniello, Carlos Alvarez, J.D. Andrew, Rich Balmer, Jeff Chestek, Steve Churchyard, Quentin Dunn, Doug Emery, Conrad Golding, Jules Gondar, Al Hemberger, Dino Hermann, Matt Howe, Jimmy Hoyson, Jeff Kanan, Chris Laws, Greg London, Craig Lozowick, Clif Magness, Marcelo Marulanda, Csaba Petocz, Lee Levin, Andy Zulla, Robin Sellars, Sam Watters
• Mixing - Louis Biancaniello, Carlos Alvarez, Bob Clearmountain, Steve Ferrera, Rhett Lawrence, Tony Maserati, Steve McMillan, Dave Pensado, Andy Zulla, Mike Shipley
• Programming - Louis Biancaniello, Doug Emery, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Matthew Wilder
• Arranger - Louis Biancaniello, Doug Emery, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Sam Watters
• Mixing Assistant - James Briggs, Brendan Kuntz, Matt Snedecor, Patrick Woodward
• Assistant Engineer - Dan Bucchi, Gordon Goss, Kevin Harp, Jun Ishizeki, Daniel Pursey, Cesar Ramirez
• Vocal Editing - Dabling Harward
• Pro-Tools Editing - Rhett Lawrence, Steve McMillan, Andy Zulla, Jim Watts, Olle Romo
• Drum Programming - Carl Sturken
• Vocal Arrangement - Chris Willis
• Strings Arrangements - Dave Arch, Larry Gold
• Strings Conductor - Larry Gold
• Orchestra Manager - Suzie Katayama
• Songwriter - Stephanie Saraco
• Mastering - Stephen Marcussen
• A&R - Steve Ferrera
• Photography - Tony Duran
• Art Direction - Frank Harkins, Brett Kilroe

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2003-06) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[14] 33 Canadian Albums Chart[15] 5 Dutch Albums Chart[16] 83 Irish Albums Chart[17] 46 Japanese Albums Chart[18] 19 Norwegian Albums Chart[19] 12 UK Albums Chart[20] 41 U.S. Billboard 200[21] 1

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[22] Gold 35,000 Canada (Music Canada)[23] Platinum 100,000 Japan (RIAJ)[24] Gold 100,000 Norway (IFPI Norway)[25] Gold 20,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[26] Gold 100,000 United States (RIAA)[27] 3× Platinum 2,776,000[28] ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
United States	April 15, 2003	RCA, 19 Recordings	CD
United Kingdom	July 7, 2003	Sony BMG
Australia	September 15, 2003
Brazil	December 18, 2006

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Thankful - Kelly Clarkson". AllMusic.
2. "For The Record: Quick News On Kelly Clarkson And Justin Guarini, Eve, D12, Ben Lee, Sheryl Crow & More". December 13, 2002. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
3. Mansfield, Brian (January 7, 2010). "Bonus sales numbers: Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, David Archuleta, more". USA Today. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
4. Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum - January 2004
5. "Critic Rviews for Thankful". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
6. Goldblatt, Henry (April 25, 2003). "Thankful Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
7. Sullivan, Caroline (August 28, 2003). "Kelly Clarkson: Thankful". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
8. Sterdan, Darryl (April 25, 2003). "Album Review - THANKFUL". Jam!. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
9. Berger, Arion (April 22, 2003). "Thankful". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
10. Cinquemani, Sal (April 17, 2003). "Kelly Clarkson: Thankful". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
11. Gardner, Elysa (April 14, 2003). "Clarkson's 'Thankful' much obliged to many". USA Today.
12. Gundersen, Edna (2007-08-10). "Clarkson slipping into a sales slump". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
13. "Kelly Clarkson Hits The Roof For New Clip, Plans DVD". MTV. 2003-11-06. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
14. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL (ALBUM) - http://australian-charts.com". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10. External link in |title= (help)
15. "Thankful - Kelly Clarkson - Canadian Albums chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
16. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL (ALBUM) - http://dutchcharts.nl". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10. External link in |title= (help)
17. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL (ALBUM) - irish-charts.com". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
18. "サンクフル ケリー・クラークソンのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). ORICON. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
19. "KELLY CLARKSON - THANKFUL - http://norwegiancharts.com". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-03-10. External link in |title= (help)
20. "Archive Chart- Kelly Clarkson - Thankful". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
21. "Thankful - Kelly Clarkson - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
22. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
23. "Canadian album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful". Music Canada.
24. "Japanese album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2008年5月 on the drop-down menu
25. "Norwegian album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
26. "British album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Thankful in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
27. "American album certifications – Kelly Clarkson – Thankful". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
28. " "Ask Billboard: They Are Women, Hear Them 'Roar'". Billboard.