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"Invincible" is a song by American singer
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...
from her seventh studio album, '' Piece by Piece'' (2015). It was written by Sia,
Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums and One Direction, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for Grammy Award ...
, Steve Mostyn, and Warren "Oak" Felder. Produced by Shatkin, the track is an
orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
anthem about self-empowerment. "Invincible" features uncredited vocals from Sia, as well as string arrangements by Oliver Kraus. It was first released as the first promotional single from ''Piece by Piece'' on February 23, 2015, but then issued as the album's second single to
Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
radio stations on May 18, 2015 through
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...
.


Background and recording

During her
Stronger Tour The Stronger Tour was the sixth headlining tour by American pop recording artist Kelly Clarkson. Beginning on January 13, 2012, the tour supported her fifth studio album, '' Stronger'' (2011). With over fifty dates, the tour traveled to the Americ ...
in 2012, Clarkson performed a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
of Sia's single " Breathe Me" (2004). Upon learning of the performance, Sia offered her salutations and revealed that she had been trying to write a song for Clarkson and will continue to submit material. In 2014, Sia revealed that she wrote a song entitled "Invincible" with
Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums and One Direction, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for Grammy Award ...
. And while demonstrating her work with producer Greg Kurstin on NPR, she ended up writing a part of what would be included in the song, which she remarked that no one had cut yet. She, together with Shatkin, who had also previously collaborated with Clarkson as Kurstin's engineer, finished the song towards the end of Clarkson's recording sessions for her seventh studio album, '' Piece by Piece''. Shatkin presented the song to Clarkson, saying "I know you're done recording your album, but we've just wrote this amazing song and we think you could do great on it." Upon hearing their demo, Clarkson decided to record the song, she replied "I think I could too — I want it!".


Composition

"Invincible" was written by Sia, Shatkin, Steve Mostyn, and Warren Felder. It was one of the two songs Sia had written for Clarkson, the other being "Let Your Tears Fall". The last song recorded for ''Piece by Piece'', it is a midtempo
orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
anthem produced by Kurstin together with Shatkin. The song features background vocals by Sia. Lyrically, it sings of empowerment, telling a story of a little girl becoming a woman with unlimited strength, coming into her own and discovering a sense of self-worth. '' Billboard'' associate editor Jason Lipshutz remarked that Clarkson has struck this pose many times, further describing the record as less of a fist-pumping anthem than " Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (2012) or " Breakaway" (2004). "Invincible" also features strings arranged and conducted by Oliver Kraus, which music critics also construed that it ratcheted up the intensity of the chorus as well as Clarkson's vocals.


Release and reception

Clarkson shared the lyrics of the chorus of "Invincible" on her website before ''Piece by Piece'' was released. "Invincible" was first released by
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...
on February 23, 2015 as the first promotional single from ''Piece by Piece''. Clarkson had also announced plans to release it as the album's second single after " Heartbeat Song".


Critical response

"Invincible" received positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. 4Music commended the song as an "empowering belter", while Nolan Feeney of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' praised the record, saying that of all the artists Sia has collaborated with, few are more suited to the spotlight-averse songwriter's brand of "victim to victory" anthems than Clarkson. In her review for HitFix, Courtney E. Smith described the song as having the looks to combine that Clarkson backbone everyone so loved from tracks like " Since U Been Gone" (2004) and the aural architecture of
David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
and Sia's "
Titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...
" (2011). Reviewing for ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'', Taylor Weatherby complimented the track, writing that "Invincible" is more focused on reminding fans of the powerhouse vocalist Clarkson is, and that she that her "Stronger" spirit hasn't changed. In his review for '' Spin'', James Grebey described the song as combining Clarkson's commanding vocals and Sia's songwriting prowess to great effect, and like "Heartbeat Song" before it, the track is an earnest and empowering tour de force with a truly anthemic chorus. Reviewing for
Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
, Bradley Stern doubled that remark, saying that the song is as one might expect a pairing between the quirky singer-songwriter and the masterclass belter to be — emotionally earnest and vocally explosive.


Chart performance

Upon its release as a promotional single, "Invincible" debuted on the '' Billboard'' Pop Digital Songs chart at number 50 on the chart week ending March 14, 2015. Following its official single release, "Invincible" debuted at number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Pop Songs chart for the week ending April 6, 2015. It also debuted at number 26 on the ''Billboard''
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
chart for the week ending July 4, 2015.


Music video

The music video was directed by
Alon Isocianu Alon Isocianu (born in Hadera, Israel) is a Canadian music video and commercial director and visual artist. He has helmed music videos for a variety of notable international artists including Kelly Clarkson, Maren Morris, Pentatonix, Lights, Billy ...
and was shot in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
from April 30, to May 1, 2015. Addy Chan choreographed the video. On May 15, 2015, the lyric video for the song was released. The music video was released on May 29, 2015. Clarkson spends most of the video dancing around a warehouse full of cube-shaped floating lamps, which eventually shatter to reveal women who were previously hiding inside. At first, they wear their pain on their faces, but that pain eventually gives way to happiness.


Live performances

Clarkson debuted "Invincible" in a live performance on the 2015 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 17, 2015, a day before its street date. She performed the song with '' The Voice'' eighth season runner-up Meghan Linsey during the season finale on May 19, 2015 and on the June 3 episode of ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pr ...
''. Clarkson performed the song at the iHeart Radio Summer Pool Party at the Caesar Palace on May 30, 2015. Additionally, Clarkson debuted the song on the British television program, ''
This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * '' CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succe ...
'' on June 5, 2015. In July 2015, Clarkson performed the song on ''
Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
4th of July Spectacular'' on NBC.


Track listing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Release history


References


External links

* {{authority control 2010s ballads 2015 singles 2014 songs Kelly Clarkson songs Song recordings produced by Jesse Shatkin Songs written by Sia (musician) Synth-pop ballads Songs written by Jesse Shatkin Sony Music singles Songs written by Oak Felder Song recordings produced by Oak Felder