Queen Kelly Clarkson fell head over heels in love with her super chipper “Heartbeat Song” at the start of the year.
But it’s not all ponies, rainbows and bedazzled baby headphones for River Rose in her world.
“Invincible” is the second song (and, according to Kelly, the second single) from Piece By Piece, her upcoming seventh studio album. And unlike the lead single, this one’s a whole lot less lovey-dovey: It’s all about being broken down, but rising above in spite of everything — a self-empowerment anthem, yes, with the kind of sincerity you’d come to expect to come from Sia‘s pen.
“Now I am invincible, no I ain’t a scared little girl no more/Yeah, I am invincible/What was I running for?”
Kelly’s no stranger to supplying inspiration — see also “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — and she continues to do so in “Invincible,” produced by Jesse Shatkin and Greg Kurstin. There are plenty of earworm hooks (“Beat down on me, beat down like a waterfall“) and a colossal chorus, but the best part, obviously, is when Clarkso lets loose and provides the kind of pipes we’ve come to expect from the Breakaway: Queen, starting with that bridge: “I was running from an empty threat that didn’t EXIY-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.” It literally sounds like an angel swooped down and plucked her up from the recording studio, and she’s just belting her face off all the way up to the sky.
From there, it’s just a whole mess of heaven-sent belting and falsetto ad-libbing all the way to the finish, including “WHAT WAS I RUNNING FRO-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.” and “UNSUR-AHHHHH” and “AHH-AHHHHHHHHH~.”
Sure, Kelly’s had some trouble finding collaborators as of late, but teaming up with a fellow huge-voiced elusive chanteuse with a real way with words certainly seems to be the winning ticket. (And with that ticket, she’ll never just miss the train. SEE WHAT I DID THERE?)
“You know I was broke down, I had hit the ground, I was crying out, couldn’t make no sound/No one hears the silent tears collecting…”
“Invincible” was released on February 23. (iTunes)
