Kelly Clarkson - Meaning of Life (2017)

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Kelly Clarkson - Meaning of Life (2017)

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Meaning of Life is the upcoming eighth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, scheduled to be released on October 27, 2017, by Atlantic Records. The album is her debut album from Atlantic after successfully completing her recording contract with RCA Records which she had won as the first American Idol winner. The album was preceded by the dual release of the singles "Love So Soft" and "Move You" on September 7, 2017.

After reissuing her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece, along with its companion remix album in 2016, Clarkson successfully completed the terms of her recording contract with RCA Records and 19 Recordings which she had signed as a winning prize after winning the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002. As opposed to the previous contract structure where 19 will hold the phonographic rights to the master recordings, RCA executives Peter Edge and Tom Corson revealed their intentions to sign Clarkson directly to the label without 19's involvement. Their renewal offer would include a three-album deal with a US$1 million advance per album, in contrast to the six-album limit from the previous contract with a US$500,000 incentive per record. Corson also admitted that Clarkson's relationship with Sony Music executive Clive Davis might prove to be a nuance to the offer.

Despite remarking that her structure with Edge and Corson on the label proved to be successful, Clarkson had second thoughts about renewing the contract, which she recalled as an "arranged marriage". As result, her management brokered a meeting with Atlantic Records executives Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald along with Warner Music Nashville executive John Esposito, who in turn offered her a long-term worldwide deal with a larger creative freedom. On June 24, 2016, Warner Music Group announced that Clarkson had signed a long-term worldwide recording contract with Atlantic and will immediately work on a soul and R&B album set to be released the following year. The move to Atlantic also reunited her with Pete Ganbarg, who had previously did A&R work for her fourth studio album All I Ever Wanted (2009). Later that year, Clarkson made her Atlantic debut appearance by releasing a cover version of the Hamilton Broadway musical number "It's Quiet Uptown", which was featured on the album The Hamilton Mixtape.

Three of Clarkson's producers from Piece by Piece were confirmed to return to Meaning of Life: Greg Kurstin, Jason Halbert, and Jesse Shatkin, whereas first-time collaborators include The Monarch, Nick Ruth, and Mick Schultz. Deviating from the predominant pop rock sound of her previous releases, Clarkson wanted to approach a different genre—soul and R&B music. She revealed that she had previously wanted to record these type of songs, but had never found an opportunity to do so. She found out that Kallman was "dying (sic) to make this record" with her and has counted on his full support. Clarkson compared the new material as reminiscent of the songs she had performed during her tenure on American Idol, and remarked that the album is a "new and fresh thing" for her and made her feel like a "brand new artist again".

To avoid material similar to that of Stronger (2011), Clarkson met with various songwriters and showcased several soulful tracks to them to demonstrate the album's direction. She remarked that meeting with various writing camps was a "different creative process", as her family life had hindered opportunities for her to write material on her own, but still made efforts to do so, drawing inspirations from media such as the novel Big Little Lies (2014). Several songwriters, including Ali Tamposi, Mozella, Harlœ, Diztortion, and Warren "Oak" Felder have all confirmed to have submitted material to Clarkson in Nashville, where much of the recording took place at Startstruck Studios.

Meaning of Life is set to be released by Atlantic and its parent label Warner Music Group on October 27, 2017. Originally scheduled to be issued in June 2017, the release date was pushed back to the year's fall season. On September 6, 2017, Kallman, Greenwald and Warner Music CEO Max Lousada presented Clarkson where she performed six selections the album at the Rainbow Room in New York City. "Love So Soft" was issued as the album's lead single alongside "Move You" on September 7, 2017. Clarkson premiered both songs on live television at The Today Show the following day, followed by a reprise of the "Move You" at the television special EIF Presents: XQ Super School Live the same evening. On September 20, 2017, She performed "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and "Love So Soft" on the twelfth season finale of America's Got Talent.