Like every one of her songs, it gets better after you remember it’s about Justin Guarini.
[Video][Website]
[5.14]
Brad Shoup: You’d think that at least once, Clarkson’s had a relationship that ended in a slow fizzle, with both parties finding ways to invite themselves over for a particularly lonely night. “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” is a pulsing disco-rock track that leaves no room for self-incrimination. From the long view, all this protest sums to very little power. As a single, it’ll do, but will it be any fun to dance to?
[4]
Katherine St Asaph: Kelly Clarkson’s Stronger, thankfully, is nothing like “Mr. Know It All.” It’s as nuanced and confessional about relationships as Drake’s album, in fact, but where Drake’s take makes critics call him a moody, complicated prince, Kelly gets dismissed as overly heartbroken or “man-hating” (find me a mainstream, non-feminist-blogger critic who calls Drake “woman-hating,” and I’ll give up and review his album.) Before you refute the point with songwriting credits, nobody’s really mentioning them in either context. But while Kelly’s subject matter is what makes girls relate to her — see also Adele and Taylor — it’s not what makes her great. Clarkson’s thorns are not the best part of her. Here, it’s how “Stronger” fits “Since U Been Gone” into shiny electronic armor. Nobody, except Paramore sometimes and P!nk years ago, is making power-pop with this much panache.
[8]
Iain Mew: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, “Me, myself and I” – it’s inspiration through cliché, and all of Kelly’s efforts can’t raise it above rote. Especially over such tired rocking out.
[4]
Jer Fairall: Finally, a song about what a strong, independent woman Kelly Clarkson is.
[3]
Pete Baran: Its one of my favourite fallacious statements, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, and Kelly does nothing here to convince me that getting MRSA would necessarily leave me a stronger person. Nevertheless the song itself manages to embody its own thesis with a truly poor opening verse followed by a much better song. Its recovery is based around a stomping chorus, but it never quite makes the grade to turn it into Clarkson’s “Fighter”/”Survivor,” which it is clearly supposed to be.
[5]
Jonathan Bogart: Thirty seconds after listening to it, when I try to call it up in memory I get “Marry the Night” instead. The comparison doesn’t flatter.
[5]
Edward Okulicz: The voice is a 10, the song is a 4. I’ll do the math for you.
[7]