because of you

Writing inspiration

"Because Of You" was co-written by Clarkson, Ben Moody, and David Hodges, and produced by Moody and Hodges. The song is one of Clarkson's most personal as she originally wrote the lyrics when she was sixteen years old to deal with her emotional pain at the time. Clarkson has stated that although she has grown to overcome her pain through God, she can still relate to the pain of "Because of You". This song has proved to be a world-wide hit.

Years later when she met Moody and Hodges, Clarkson asked if they could write songs with her. She asked them to help her polish "Because of You" for the Breakaway album, but said that she would understand if they disliked the song and wanted to write a new song with her. Instead, both Moody and Hodges were impressed with the song, and along with Clarkson, they polished it into its final form. In this emotional autobiographical anthem, Clarkson laments her troubled family life as she sings:

"Because of you, I never stray too far from the sidewalk, because of you, I learn to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt, because of you I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me. Because of you, I am afraid"

Music video

As she had with "Behind These Hazel Eyes", Clarkson wrote the video's treatment herself; it was directed by Vadim Perelman. The video is based on a true story of Clarkson's troubled childhood (due to the nature of the video, she asked her parents for permission before it was created). The young Clarkson is played by the seven year old daughter of band member Jason Halbert.

The video starts off one afternoon at the Clarkson household. There, Kelly and her husband are engaged in a heated argument, and at one point he takes a picture of the family and threatens to smash it. However, he never gets the chance to, as time freezes still and her husband becomes immobile; Clarkson, however, is immune to this. Looking around the corners of her house, she sees a sight that surprises her: her younger self.

Hand in hand, the younger and older Clarkson relive Clarkson's troubled childhood as various painful memories are seen such as the younger Clarkson making a picture for her father to admire, which is then tossed into the sink, and Clarkson's mother making an unappreciated dinner for her father. These events drive her mother to the point of taking pills and crying publicly in front of the younger Clarkson.

The breaking point is finally seen when Clarkson's parents have a physical fight and throw objects at each other. Soon after, Clarkson's father packs his bags, as he is leaving the family; although the younger Clarkson tries to get him to stay, he pulls away. Filled with the memories of her past, the older Clarkson has seen enough and runs back in time to the present. There, time unfreezes and instead of fighting with her husband, they make up. Clarkson's daughter in the video can be seen walking around the corner. Clarkson has finally broken the cycle of having a dysfunctional family.

The music video of Because of You was officially released on TRL on October 3 2005. It debuted on October 4, 2005 at the top of the countdown. It eventually became Clarkson's third retired video, and spent twenty-seven out of fifty days at number one. After debuting on MuchMusic's Countdown at number twenty-nine, it eventually ascended to the number one, On June 18, 2006 The video also garnered Clarkson a MuchMusic Video Award for People's Choice Favorite International Artist. The video also won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. Said VMA win marked the second time any female artist won two consecutive awards for Best Female Video (Beyonce won in 2003 and 2004); it made her the fourth person to win two years in a row for a gender category (Beck was the first, Beyonce was second, Alicia Keys was third).

Trivia

American Idol Season 5 contestant Lisa Tucker performed this song during the "Songs of the 21st Century" theme week. This marked the first time an American Idol winner's song was covered on the show. Australian Idol 3 Top 30 contestant Chloe Zuel also covered this song previously to Tucker on Australian Idol. Runner-up Floortje Smit from Season 3 of Idols in the Netherlands also covered this song. The judges had picked out the song for her. (Carrie Underwood holds the honour for covering a past Idol winner's song ever; Australian Idol Season 1 winner Guy Sebastian's debut single "Angels Brought Me Here.")

Sample

Charts

Chart Trajectory

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "Because of You".

U.S. digital maxi single

• Versions of "Because of You"
  1. Jason Nevins radio
  2. Jason Nevins club mix
  3. Jason Nevins club with intro breakdown
  4. Jason Nevins dub
  5. Jason Nevins club instrumental
  6. Jason Nevins radio instrumental
  7. Jason Nevins remix — acoustic version without strings
  8. Jason Nevins acoustic
  9. Jason Nevins a capella