Piece by Piece is the seventh studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It was released on February 27, 2015, by RCA Records. It was her final studio album under her recording contract with the label, to which she signed after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002. She then made the switch to Atlantic in 2016. The album saw Clarkson reuniting with frequent collaborators Greg Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Jason Halbert, Eric Olson, and Chris DeStefano. She also gathered material from songwriters such as Sia, Matthew Koma, MoZella, Bonnie McKee, David Jost, Semi Precious Weapons lead singer Justin Tranter, and former Cobra Starship member Ryland Blackinton, among others. Inspired by the orchestral production on Wrapped in Red, Clarkson wanted all the songs on Piece by Piece to resonate like its own film soundtrack, taking a cue from the soundtracks of the feature motion pictures Cruel Intentions (1999) and Love Actually (2003) and commissioning orchestral arrangements by Joseph Trapanese.

Piece by Piece is illustrated as a concept record telling a single story, using themes of heartbreak, personal struggles, peace, and empowerment. The music of Piece by Piece consists of electropop, orchestral pop, power pop and electronic dance music, marking a departure from the predominant pop rock sound of her previous studio albums. Piece by Piece was released to positive reception from music critics, who applauded Clarkson's vocal performances. Criticism mainly targeted the album's production, as well as its belaboring on midtempo arrangements. Piece by Piece gave Clarkson a total of three Grammy Award nominations. It became her fourth work to be nominated for the Best Pop Vocal Album, giving her the record for the most-nominated artist in the category. Both "Heartbeat Song" and "Piece by Piece" were also nominated for the Best Pop Solo Performance.

Commercially, Piece by Piece became Clarkson's third album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States. Internationally, it also reached the top ten in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom. The album's lead single, "Heartbeat Song", peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became her ninth top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. "Invincible" was released as the second single to a minor chart success. The third and final single, "Piece by Piece", debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her eleventh top-ten single in the United States. The album's supporting tour, the Piece by Piece Tour, began on July 11, 2015. On March 4, 2016, RCA Records released Piece by Piece Remixed, which contains remixed versions of ten of the tracks from the album.

Background and recording

In 2013, Clarkson released her first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red, which to her represented a beginning for a second phase for her career. In the midst of recording it, she also collaborated with recording artists Robbie Williams, Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood in their respective albums Swings Both Ways (2013), Everlasting (2014) and PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit (2014). In an interview with Billboard magazine, she announced intentions to release a set of pop and country records, as well as a potential Broadway album, as a follow-up to Wrapped in Red. RCA Records chief executive Peter Edge also revealed in their 2014 mid-year assessment that they were in a process of finding new music and directions for some of their established acts – primarily with Clarkson. Early stages of development for a follow-up studio album began as early as June 2012, with Clarkson commissioning Rodney Jerkins in recording a potential track. She remarked: "We're already working. I'm constantly like that because you never know when you're going to find a song and so we're always working on the next thing." The follow-up album would complete the terms of her recording contract with RCA Records and 19 Recordings, which was signed following her win on the first season of the television competition American Idol in 2002.

Recording sessions for Piece by Piece began while Clarkson was in the midst of the 2013 Honda Civic Tour with Maroon 5 and continuing on while being pregnant with her first child. During its production, Clarkson had amassed over twenty songs for her to record. Some of the production team behind Wrapped in Red also returned on Piece by Piece. They were led by Greg Kurstin, whom Clarkson had first commissioned for Stronger. Jesse Shatkin, who had first worked as an engineer under Kurstin on Clarkson's last two studio albums, revealed that he had produced a couple tracks on the record. He described the transition into a more creative role as "especially poignant". Sia, who was also a frequent collaborator of Kurstin and Shatkin, announced intentions to submit recording material to Clarkson. Joseph Trapanese, who conducted arrangements in Wrapped in Red, later confirmed that he had finished arranging and recording five of the album's songs with a full philharmonic orchestra.

Composition Theme and influences Inspired by the production on Wrapped in Red, Clarkson wanted all the tracks on Piece by Piece to sound like its own soundtrack, while also wanting every song to have potential as a single. Taking inspiration from the soundtracks of the feature films Cruel Intentions (1999) and Love Actually (2003), she remarked: "I love soundtracks and I love how you can tell, 'Oh, this should be in a soundtrack!' You can picture the movie. I definitely wanted the orchestral elements going on and I definitely wanted the intense factor going on." Clarkson illustrated the album as a concept record telling a single "awesome" story, using different pieces of her character, leading her to name the album Piece by Piece. Citing the aspects of heartbreak and personal struggle as well as peace and empowerment in its lyrical content, she described the record as an album within an uplifting and reflective environment. She recalled: "I'm 32 years old, I have pretty much run the gauntlet of pretty much every emotion you could possibly go through — especially being 19 [years old] and being thrust into the industry, and growing up really quickly."

Music and lyrics

Clarkson shares five co-writing credits on Piece by Piece, as she explained her pregnancy prevented her from writing more material. She recalled: "It was the first time I didn't really feel inspired, because I was so sick, but I didn't feel like writing anymore. The big difference for this recording was collecting from other writers I'm inspired by." The album opens with "Heartbeat Song", produced by Greg Kurstin and written by Kara DioGuardi, Jason Evigan, Audra Mae, and Mitch Allan. Clarkson described the track as a song that could have fit on Stronger but was a little more progressive, and said that the track serves as a bridge connecting Stronger to Piece by Piece. Produced by Jesse Shatkin, "Invincible" follows as the second song of empowerment, written by Sia, Shatkin, Steve Mostyn, and Warren "Oak" Felder. Clarkson had originally intended the song to be recorded as a duet with Sia, but RCA ultimately decided to keep Sia's vocals uncredited to avoid competition with her studio album 1000 Forms of Fear (2014), as both were on the same label. The last song recorded for Piece by Piece, Shatkin sent the song to Clarkson, saying: "Sia and I just wrote this song and you've gotta hear it. I know you're finished with the record but you've gotta hear it", to which she quickly agreed. The third track, "Someone", is a non-apology apology song written by Matthew Koma and produced by Kurstin. "Take You High", the fourth track, was written with Mozella and produced by Shatkin, who described it as "an electronic banger" and "a little left-of-center", but also having a haunting melody that he thought Clarkson was attracted to.

Clarkson described the fifth song and title track "Piece by Piece" as her most personal song on the album. It was produced by Kurstin, who co-wrote the song with Clarkson after a conversation she had with her sister about their family life. The sixth song, "Run Run Run", features American recording artist John Legend. Produced by Jason Halbert, it was written by Tim James, Antonina Armato, Joacim Persson, Ry Cuming, and David Jost. Clarkson and Legend had previously worked together on the short-lived American television program Duets in 2012. Originally deeming it to be a solo record, Clarkson invited Legend to turn the track into a duet after recording her part during the 2013 Honda Civic Tour. Legend responded within ten minutes, saying: "Oh my God, I'd love to do it. Send me the file!" "Run Run Run" was also recorded by the German rock band Tokio Hotel for their fifth studio album Kings of Suburbia (2014), which Clarkson was unfamiliar with until releasing her version of the song. Clarkson co-wrote the seventh track "I Had a Dream" with Kurstin (who also produced it) after lamenting with her friends about the dichotomy that exists between expectations and reality and her disappointment in their generation. Clarkson bemoaned: "I don't understand why we're still struggling with these basic, asinine issues [gay, straight, black, and white]. It bothers me. So I ended up writing this whole song about it and I had a dream that we were more." The song features a "gospely chorus."

Kurstin produced the eighth track, "Let Your Tears Fall", which was co-written with Sia. It was the first song Clarkson recorded for Piece by Piece; she had recorded while still touring with Maroon 5. The song was finished just as Sia and Kurstin had completed work for 1000 Forms of Fear. Clarkson fell in love with the song's lyrical message of "having that person in your life—or people in your life—who can be a shoulder to cry on." Co-writing with Clarkson, Kurstin also produced the ninth song, "Tightrope". Originally penned as a simple piano ballad, Clarkson wrote the song about feelings people are unable to prove by themselves in a relationship; Kurstin added an orchestral element with its production. Produced by Halbert, the tenth track, "War Paint", was written by Julia Michaels, Joleen Belle, and Sir Nolan. Clarkson described the song as a record about letting someone's guard down, saying: "We build this wall but at our core we all want the same thing — you want to be loved, and you want to be a part of something." Dan Rockett wrote the eleventh track, "Dance with Me", which was produced by Kurstin. Although it was originally intended to be included on Greatest Hits – Chapter One (2012), Clarkson deemed the song too progressive to be included on it. Rockett also revealed that he imagined the track as a David Bowie/Lady Gaga duet when presenting the song to Polow da Don, who then pitched the song to Clarkson. Written by Justin Tranter, Ryland Blackinton, Dan Keyes, and Vaughn Oliver, the twelfth track, "Nostalgic", was produced by Halbert. Clarkson recorded the song, an uptempo electronic rock song, as an ode to the 1980s. The closing track on the standard edition, "Good Goes the Bye", was written by Shane McAnally and Natalie Hemby. Originally pitched as a country demo, Clarkson remarked that Halbert produced the record to resonate like a Eurythmics-style song. In addition, three tracks were included in the deluxe edition of the album. The fourteenth, "Bad Reputation", written by Clarkson, Kelly Sheehan, Kurstin, and Bonnie McKee, was produced by Kurstin. The fifteenth track, "In the Blue", was produced by Shatkin, who co-wrote it with Clarkson, Anjulie Persaud, and Fransisca Hall. Produced by Chris DeStefano, "Second Wind" closes the album as the final track, which he had co-written with McAnally and Maren Morris.

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