Meaning of Life
On her triumphant eighth album, Kelly Clarkson summons her inner Aretha. Trading her signature hook-laden pop-rock for gutsy soul, it’s a straight-talking, hater-shaking, hear-me-roar smash that shows off her superhuman range and vocal strength like never before. For the Nashville-based star, happiness is a happy marriage (“Meaning of Life”), an open mind (“Move You”), and a bulletproof self-confidence (“Go High”). But the highlight has to be “Whole Lotta Woman,” a rip-roaring collaboration with Earth, Wind & Fire that bulldozes bullies and body-shamers: “I ain\'t no girl/I\'m a boss with orders.”
Our critics give their verdict on the biggest releases from the last seven days
Meaning of Life doesn’t reinvent pop-soul, but the album solidifies Clarkson’s position as one of her generation’s greatest singers.