"Einstein" is a song by American pop recording artist

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 debu ...

, from her fifth studio album, '' Stronger'' (2011). Originally titled as "Dumb + Dumb = You", "Einstein" was written by Clarkson,

Toby Gad Tobias "Toby" Gad (born 28 March 1968) is a Los Angeles-based German music producer/songwriter, best known for co-writing John Legend's biggest hit, " All of Me," the fifth-highest certified single in RIAA history, and for co-writing and produc ...

Bridget Kelly Bridget Kelly (born April 8, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter from New York City. In 2008, Kelly, a pop and R&B recording artist, who has written songs for fellow American singers such as Kelly Clarkson, secured a recording contract ...

, and James Fauntleroy II, with Gad handling the production. Lyrically, the song is written in a woman's first-person narrative about her acquiescence and infuriation towards her ex-lover, whom she described in the song as "dumb". Written in wordplay, it uses various mathematical-related equations and topics as rhetorical devices to describe their relationship, notably referencing the German-born physicist

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...

in a metaphorical lyric, which led to the song being named after him. Upon its release, "Einstein" received mixed reviews from music critics, whose criticism targeted the song's lyrical content, primarily the lyric "Dumb plus dumb equals you", but also complimented Clarkson's vocal performance. Propelled by digital sales during the album's release week, "Einstein" charted at number 56 in the South Korean Singles Chart. She has performed the song in select dates of her Stronger Tour.

Background and release

"Einstein" was written by

, and James Fauntleroy II; and produced by Gad. Kelly initially wrote the song for her debut studio album, but ultimately gave it to Clarkson. Kelly recalled:

"I wrote the record initially thinking that it would be a part of my project. I don’t really know what I thought. I think, as a writer, you just come up with ideas in songs and you never know what’s going to happen to them—you just do them off inspiration. I didn’t know what kind of life it would take, but I’m really happy it ended up with Kelly."

In May 2011, a demo of the song was leaked into the internet, but was quickly taken down. The final version of the track was selected for inclusion for her fifth studio album, '' Stronger'', which was released in October 2011.

Composition

"Einstein" is a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stat ...

song. Its lyrical content mains focuses on a woman's realization and anger towards her ex-lover's, with its chorus centering on the realization that it won't take an intelligence like

's to figure out his feeble-mindedness, using a faux-formula phrase "Dumb + dumb = you." Clarkson revealed about its musical's content: "I think there’s always going to be that level with me. That’s the type of music I love. I grew up loving feisty women singers. I find a lot of joy in getting all that crap out of your system. I haven’t been in a bad relationship in years. It’s just that I've been in a bad relationship, and I think when you’re singing any song like that, you pull from the one thing in your life that you know you've experienced." Gil Kaufman of MTV noted its same

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

vibe to "

Since U Been Gone "Since U Been Gone" is a song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her second studio album, '' Breakaway'' (2004). The song, which was written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, was released as the lead sing ...

" (2004).

Critical response

"Einstein" received mixed reviews from music critics. Chris Willman of

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was esta ...

gave a positive review, he wrote: "The rocker "Einstein" sounds like it might've been written for Pink, though it probably wasn't, since Clarkson gets a co-writing credit. Against guitar squalls and live drums, she does the romantic math ("Our love divided by the square root of pride...It was heavy when I finally figured it out") and concludes that "dumb plus dumb equals you," a formula that will surely help kids get interested in arithmetic this fall." Jason Lipshutz of '' Billboard'', however, wrote, "Yes, "Einstein" is fun. Yes, Clarkson sounds spectacular. But the refrain reads, "Dumb plus dumb equals you." Moving on!" Ken Tucker of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

wrote in his review, "She sometimes seems to be singing songs that Justin Timberlake rejected. How else to explain the choice of a song such as "Einstein," with its tortured, mathematically illiterate organizing metaphor? Some of the song's verses are fun just because they're so ostentatiously foolish." But also added, ""Dumb plus dumb equals you," Clarkson bellows. On second thought, I kind of love that performance, in its goofy way. Far better is the kind of crisp vocal work Clarkson brings to a vocal hook worthy of her dramatized agony". Brian Mansfield of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' was equivocal on the song's lyrical content. He wrote, "the reliability of the narrator is in question, as she sings, "You say I'm crazy, and that we're happy/Is that supposed to comfort me?" Is the guy a lech who flirts with other women in front of her, or is she just loopy nuts? Your guess is as good as mine." Jim Farber of the '' New York Daily News'' referred the chorus of the song as some of the worst lines in pop history. ("I may not be Einstein/but I know that dumb plus dumb equals you").

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''Stronger''

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the 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 notes are desc ...

. Recording *Recorded at Kite Music Studios, California Personnel * Vocals –

* Production, Instruments, Programming, Recording –

* Additional production – Heather J. Miley, Tim Roberts * Songwriting – Kelly Clarkson, Toby Gad,

, James Fauntleroy II

Charts

References