"Someone" is a song by American pop 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). The song was written by

Matthew Koma Matthew Bair (born June 2, 1987), known professionally as Matthew Koma, is an American singer, songwriter, DJ and record producer. Songs written by Koma include "Spectrum" and Grammy Award-winner "Clarity", both performed by Zedd. Koma has coll ...

and produced by

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

. It is a pulsatic

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

track, about a defunct relationship, in which a singer sings of a false apology to a former lover while also wishing him to find someone to love in the future. "Someone" was 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 ...

as the fifth and final

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from ''Piece by Piece'' on February 27, 2015. The song received mainly positive views from music critics.

Background and composition

"Someone" is written by

and produced by

. Koma wrote the song while he was still finishing recording with his debut studio album, ''Arcadia''. Lyrically, it is a

ballad of

ambivalence Ambivalence is a state of having simultaneous conflicting reactions, beliefs, or feelings towards some object. Stated another way, ambivalence is the experience of having an Attitude (psychology), attitude towards someone or something that contains ...

following a breakup in a relationship, in which the singer derides her lover by singing a false apology for saying "shitty" things to him while also hoping for him to find someone to love in life. ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Ta ...

'' chief music critic Jim Farber remarked that the song is a classic

non-apology apology A non-apology apology, sometimes called a backhanded apology, nonpology, or fauxpology, is a statement in the form of an apology that does not express remorse, or assigns fault to those ostensibly receiving the apology. It is common in politics a ...

ballad, saying that she wishes she didn't have to say such awful things to a foe. Containing a censored profane word, the song made ''Piece by Piece'' her first studio album to be censored by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

Release and critical reception

Prior to the release of ''Piece by Piece'', Clarkson shared the lyrics of the chorus of "Someone" on her website. "Someone" was first released by

on February 23, 2015 as the fifth and final

from ''Piece by Piece''. Upon its release, the track debuted at the top ten of the American

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

for the week ending February 28, 2015. A Frank Pole remix of the song was included on Clarkson's first remix album, '' Piece by Piece Remixed'' (2016). "Someone" received positive reviews by

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 ...

upon its release. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''s Carolline Sullivan praised the song as one of Clarkson's greatest kiss-off ballads, writing that she sings the track with the "utmost purity of tone". Reviewing ''Piece by Piece'' for ''New York Daily News'', Farber lauded the song as one of the album's most interesting tracks, saying that it repeats Clarkson's flair for the passive aggressive put-down. Jonathan Riggs of

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 ...

praised "Someone" as having some of the "best, most striking lyrics in recent memory", remarking that it elegantly traces how breakups bring out our kindest and meanest selves. Colin McGuirre of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, f ...

'' shared a similar response, describing it as serving the best illustration of "that Clarksonian candor we've grown to love." Glenn Gamboa of ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and ...

'' also praised the song for being " e closest we get to any of Clarkson's previously brassy attitude, calling it a "gorgeous" and "lush synth ballad ..that caps the tale of an imploding relationship with the tag line, 'I'm sorry I'm not sorry'." Kyle Downling of ''Music Times'' praised the track for having "great lyrics, a lot of heart and a very interesting story."

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''Piece by Piece''

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

and "Someone" metadata. Recording * Engineered at Starstruck Studios, Nashville, Tennessee and Echo Studio, Los Angeles, California * Vocal session recorded at The Attic, Nashville, Tennessee Personnel * All vocals – Kelly Clarkson *

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

– Alex Pasco ** Additional engineering – Jesse Shatkin, Julian Burg *** Assistant engineering – Todd Tidwell *

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, engineering,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, keyboards, production, and programming –

* Mastering – Chris Gehringer * Mixing – Serban Ghenea ** Engineered for mixing – John Hanes *

Recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

– Christopher Dye, John Denosky *

Songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

–

* Vocal production – Jason Halbert

Charts

References

{{Kelly Clarkson singles 2010s ballads 2015 songs Kelly Clarkson songs Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Matthew Koma

Background and composition

Release and critical reception

Credits and personnel

Charts

See also

References