Kelly Clarkson Thankful CD

"Miss Independent" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Coming off being voted the overall winner of the AMERICAN IDOL TV competition, Kelly Clarkson had big expectations to meet once she hit the studio to record her debut. Luckily, it was one of those few instances where the general public threw their lot in with a genuine talent and as a result, THANKFUL turns out to be solid demonstration of Kelly's wide-ranging abilities. Pop guru Clive Davis oversees the proceedings from his executive producer perch and on the Mariah-like opener "The Trouble With Love Is" and the gospel-flavored Diane Warren-penned power ballad "Some Kind of Miracle," you can hear what Davis gleaned from working with prima divas like Whitney Houston.

The grande dame of reality TV also shows off her compositional skills on collaborations with fellow teen idol Christina Aguilera (a hard-edged "Miss Independent") and R&B smoothie Babyface (the soulful title t

Live Recording

Personnel includes: Kelly Clarkson (vocals); Tamyra Gray (vocals); Josh Freese (acoustic & electric guitar, piano, keyboards, bass, programming); Matthew Wilder (guitar, piano, programming); Carl Sturken (guitar, keyboards, programming); Rhett Lawrence, Olle Romo, Tim Pierce, Corky James, Chris C, James Hurrah, Dan Warner (guitar); Emma Kummrow, Igor Szwec (violin); Jim Gasior (acoustic piano); Steve Mac (keyboards); Rick Todd (French horn); Kenneth Crouch, Jeremy Ruzumma (organ); Tommy Sims, Reggie Hamilton, Randy Jackson, Mike Elizondo (bass); Steve Ferrera (drums, percussion); Teddy Campbell, Abe Laboriel Jr., Lee Levin (drums); Danielle Brisebois, Sharlotte Gibson, Sheree Ford, Betty Wright, Jeanette Wright (background vocals).

Producers: Evan Rogers, Rhett Lawrence, Clif Magness, Steve Ferrera, Carl Sturken.

Personnel: Kelly Clarkson (vocals, background vocals); Matthew Wilder (guitar, piano, programming); Rhett Lawrence (guitar, programming, scratches); Chris Camozzi, Corky James, Dan Warner, Paul Gendler, Pathik Desai, Olle Romo, Tim Pierce (guitar); Clif Magness (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, programming); John Wittenberg, Ken Yerke, Ghislaine Fleishman, Charlene Kwas, Bruce Dukov, Peter Kent, Emma Kummrow, Michele Richards, Berj Garabedian, Gregory Teperman, Charles Parker, Charlie Bisharat (violin); Peter Nocella, David Young, Bob Becker , Darrin McCann (viola); Jennie Lorenzo (cello); Rick Todd (French horn); Jim Gasior (piano); Kenneth Crouch (organ); Doug Emery, Louis Biancaniello (keyboards, programming); Carl Sturken (keyboards, drum programming); Steve Mac (keyboards); Steve Ferrera (drums, percussion); Abe Laboriel, Jr., Josh Freese, Lee Levin, Teddy Campbell (drums); Wayne Rodrigues (scratches); Cindy Mizelle, Sharlotte Gibson, Sam Watters, Danielle Brisebois, Debra Byrd, Evan Rogers, Aiesha Wright, Conesha Owens, Suzie Benson, Jeanette Wright, Leslie Smith, Mary Griffin, Betty Wright, Chris Willis, Rebekah Jordan (background vocals).

DJs: Rhett Lawrence; Wayne Rodrigues.

Audio Mixers: Dave Pensado; Steve Ferrera; Louis Biancaniello; Mike Shipley; Andy Zulla; Rhett Lawrence; Tony Maserati; Carlos Alvarez; Bob Clearmountain; Steve McMillan.

Recording information: Blue Iron Gate Studio, Santa Monica, CA; Capitol studios, Los Angeles, CA; Homesite 13; HP Studios; Larrabee West, Los Angeles, CA; Rokstone, Studios, London, England; Sound Gallery Studios, Los Angeles, CA; The Enterprise, Burbank, CA; The Gentlemen's Club, Miami Beach, FL; The Hit Factory, New York, NY; The Loft, Bronxville, NY; The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA; The Studio, Philadelphia, PA; The Underlab, Los Angeles, CA; Westlake Audio, Hollywood, CA.

Photographer: Tony Duran.

Arrangers: Clif Magness; Sam Watters; Doug Emery; Louis Biancaniello; Rhett Lawrence.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.Rolling Stone (5/15/03, p.130) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Her high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy....THANKFUL is testament to marketable young ladies with more talent than artistic freedom..."
Entertainment Weekly (4/25/03, p.149) - "...Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades..." - Rating: B+