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"Heartbeat Song" 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 debu ...
from her seventh studio album, '' Piece by Piece'' (2015). Written by
Mitch Allan Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, ...
,
Audra Mae Audra Mae (born February 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is the great-great-niece of Judy Garland, and a great granddaughter of Garland's sister Jimmie. Since arriving in California in 2007, she has ...
,
Kara DioGuardi Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (; born December 9, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales o ...
, and
Jason Evigan Jason Gregory Evigan (born June 10, 1983) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His songwriting credits include co-writing and production of Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" and " What Lovers Do", Madonna's " Ghosttown", ...
, the song is an uptempo synth-pop track 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 ...
. Lyrically, it sings of meeting a person who restores someone's faith in love. Inspired by
1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
synthpop music, "Heartbeat Song" 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 A ...
as the album's lead single on January 12, 2015. "Heartbeat Song" was released to a positive response from music critics, who complimented the song's production and praised Clarkson's decision to return to mainstream pop music. Other critics, however, noted the strong resemblance the song's melody bore to that of Jimmy Eat World's single " The Middle" (2001), which later allowed the band to be credited as additional songwriters. Commercially, the single debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 37 and has peaked at number 21, marking Clarkson's sixteenth
top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
hit on the chart. It also became her fifth song to top the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs chart and marked as her highest debut among her twenty career entries on the ''Billboard''
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
chart. Internationally, it became a top ten hit single in Austria, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom while also becoming a top 20 hit in the national charts of the Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Slovakia and Sweden. Filmed by
Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...
, its accompanying music video features a scenes of various downtrodden people and their process of finding love again. Clarkson premiered "Heartbeat Song" in a live televised performance on ''
The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...
'' in February 2015 and has performed it on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' and the fourteenth season of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''. The song was nominated for
Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop S ...
at the
58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...
.


Background and composition

Shortly after the release of her first Christmas album, ''
Wrapped in Red ''Wrapped in Red'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'', and its companion extend ...
'' (2013), Clarkson, despite her pregnancy, began to record material for her seventh studio album, with a target release date in 2014. One of these tracks, "Heartbeat Song", is an uptempo synthpop track 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 ...
. Lyrically, the song sings of meeting a person who restores someone's faith in love. Sonically, ''
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 ...
''s Brian Mansfeld remarked that the record serves as sonic
defibrillator Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...
, starting with a jolt of melody, its rhythms shifting a couple times before finally settling into its steady pulse; while
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 ...
's Bradley Stern described its production as
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...
radio-friendly and remarked that the track sees Clarkson's pulse raising while falling in love above kicky drums,
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 strin ...
s and hints of synths. "Heartbeat Song" was written by
Mitch Allan Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, ...
,
Audra Mae Audra Mae (born February 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is the great-great-niece of Judy Garland, and a great granddaughter of Garland's sister Jimmie. Since arriving in California in 2007, she has ...
,
Kara DioGuardi Kara Elizabeth DioGuardi (; born December 9, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, music publisher, A&R executive, and singer. She writes music primarily in the pop rock genre. DioGuardi has worked with many popular artists; sales o ...
, and
Jason Evigan Jason Gregory Evigan (born June 10, 1983) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His songwriting credits include co-writing and production of Maroon 5's "Girls Like You" and " What Lovers Do", Madonna's " Ghosttown", ...
in a two-day session writing camp. In an interview on '' Entertainment Tonight'', Mae revealed that DioGuardi came up with the main idea and used it as the song's chorus, with everybody else contributing in. After pitching the song to different artists, including Demi Lovato, she later found out during the Christmas season that Clarkson had recorded it and planned to release the song as the album's
lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...
. Musically, the song is written in the key of
G-flat major G-flat major (or the key of G-flat) is a major scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six flats. Its relative minor is E-flat minor (or enharmonically D-sharp minor), and its parallel ...
with a fast
tempo 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 (ofte ...
of 149
beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...
. It follows the chord progression G–Bm7–Em–C, and Clarkson's vocals span from G3 to E5.


Release and reception

In January 2015, Clarkson revealed a set of clues for the single, posting the words "Proof of life and Dr. Dre # TheNextEpisode (''
sic The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
'')". On January 7, 2015, she announced January 12, 2015 as its release date as a digital download 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 A ...
, followed by a release to Mainstream Top 40 radio stations in the United States on January 13, 2015. A
CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
was also issued by RCA's parent company
Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
on March 6, 2015.


Critical response

"Heartbeat Song" garnered positive reviews from music critics, with Clarkson's return to mainstream pop music lauded, along with her vocals. '' Billboards associate editor Jason Lipshutz gave the song 4/5 stars, writing the song's production and vocals sounded invigorated. Reviewing for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', Jon Dylan gave the song a three-and-a-half star rating, describing it as a "warm, fuzzy snuggle-fest." In his midweek review for '' Spin'', assistant editor Brennan Carley wrote that the song is "a Kurstin production that sparkles with new-found passion" and said Clarkson sings a lyric of the chorus with a bubblegum snap. In his review for music website Popdust.com, Jason Scott gave the song an "A−" grade, saying that song would fit quite nicely to Clarkson's previous studio album '' All I Ever Wanted'' (2009). He also added that despite the song's the chorus isn't quite as "tasty" as what she's capable of, it's just as momentous as her previous singles such as " Mr. Know It All" (2011) and " Breakaway" (2004). Reviewing for ''
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, ...
'', Nolan Feeney wrote that "Heartbeat Song" as more of a celebration of that than a hungry comeback, reminding listeners of what Clarkson has so reliably provided over the years, with just a few souped-up adjustments. He also praised Kurstin's production and Clarkson's "arena-ready pipes", describing the song as "slick, sugary and incredibly catchy — everything you want in a pop song, really". The song has been nominated for the Choice Music Single: Female Artist category for the
2015 Teen Choice Awards The 2015 Teen Choice Awards ceremony was held on August 16, 2015, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. The awards celebrate the year's achievements in music, film, television, sports, fashion, comedy, video games, and the Internet, and ...
. Critics also compared "Heartbeat Song" to Jimmy Eat World's single " The Middle" (2001) due to a notable similarity between the melodies of the songs' verses, as well as their choruses. In his review for Idolator, Stern observed both songs' similitude. Hunter Hauk of ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...
'' also remarked of the two songs' similarities, but was ambivalent of "Heartbeat Song"'s lack of innovation as compared to Clarkson's previous lead singles. Digital Spy rated this song with 2 stars out of 5 and concluded by describing it: "ruthless in its pursuit of earworm status, and like it or not it'll find itself lodged in the inner vestibules of your brain.


Chart performance

On the chart week ending January 31, 2015, "Heartbeat Song" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 37 with 70,000 copies of digital downloads, becoming her 16th top 40 hit on the chart. It also marked as her third highest debut among her 25 career entries, following " Never Again", and "Mr. Know It All", which debuted at number 8 and number 18 respectively. On the chart week ending February 21, 2015, it moved to a peak of number 21. The song also debuted on other ''Billboard'' charts, including the ''Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40 chart, 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, quie ...
chart, the Billboard Trending 140 and the ''Billboard''
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
chart, where it entered at number 20, marking a career high for Clarkson. On July 23, 2015, "Heartbeat Song" was certified Platinum by RIAA for selling a million copies. In Canada, "Heartbeat Song" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 37 on the chart week ending January 31, 2015. In Australia, it entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 51 on the chart week ending January 26, 2015. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 7 on the Official UK Singles Chart, becoming Clarkson's ninth song to reach the chart's top 10. As of April 24, 2016 is sold over 362,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In addition, "Heartbeat Song" had attained a chart position in the national charts of Austria, Germany, Spain, and Sweden; and has also charted in the airplay charts of Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia. As of September 2017, the song has sold over 909,000 copies in the US.


Awards and nominations

At the
2015 Teen Choice Awards The 2015 Teen Choice Awards ceremony was held on August 16, 2015, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. The awards celebrate the year's achievements in music, film, television, sports, fashion, comedy, video games, and the Internet, and ...
, "Heartbeat Song" was nominated for Choice Music Single: Female Artist. For the
58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...
the song is nominated for
Best Pop Solo Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guides, the Best Pop S ...
. In 2016 Audra Mae won ASCAP Pop Music Award for co-writing the song. In May 2016, the song won at the 64th Annual BMI Pop Awards.


Music video

On January 26, 2015, RCA released an animated lyric video for "Heartbeat Song", featuring heartbeat graphs of Clarkson and three other radio guests in Nashville using an
ECG Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), a recording of the heart's electrical activity. It is an electrogram of the heart which is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the hear ...
monitor. Directed by
Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...
, its accompanying music video premiered on February 5, 2015 on
Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
. It was filmed in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
.


Synopsis

The video depicts scenes of various heartbroken people unexpectedly finding a chance to love again. These scenes are inter-cut with footage of Clarkson performing the track in a colorful background. Upon its premiere, the video had received a generally positive response, with mild criticism targeting a scene depicting a couple kissing through the opposite seating sides of a bench. In his coverage for ''Spin'', Carley remarked that there are some surprisingly deep moments tracing the journey from loss to happiness in video. Reviewing for
Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...
, senior editor Wendy Geller wrote that despite the video's concept may sound hokey, but the idea that life can change from dark to light in an instant (couple with Clarkson's buoyant vocals) is irresistible.


Live performances

Clarkson premiered "Heartbeat Song" in a live televised performance on the British television programs ''
The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...
'' on February 20, 2015, and '' Loose Women'' on March 2, 2015. She also performed the song on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' on March 2, 2015, '' Good Morning America'' on March 3, 2015,
iHeartRadio Music Awards The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platform. Founded by iHeartRadio in 2014, the ev ...
on March 29, 2015, and on ''
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'', on April 3, 2015. On April 2, 2015, Clarkson performed the song on the fourteenth season of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' where she was also the guest mentor for the top 8 as part of the "Evening with Kelly Clarkson" week. Clarkson performed the song in a medley with "
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 ...
" and "
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson and the title song from her fifth studio album, '' Stronger'' (2011). Originally titled as "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)", the song served as the album's ...
" on the
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finale of ''
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'' in Montreal on April 12, 2015. Additionally, Clarkson performed the song at the Summertime Ball hosted by Capital FM on June 6, 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
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.


Track listing


Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the "Heartbeat Song" metadata. Personnel *Kelly Clarkson – all vocals *John Denosky –
engineering Engineering is the use of 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 range of more speciali ...
*Chris Dye – engineering *Greg Kurstin – bass, engineering, recording,
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 strin ...
,
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
s,
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
, programming *Alex Pasco – recording *Serban Ghenea – mixing *John Hanes –
mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of UK top 10 singles in 2015 *
List of number-one dance singles of 2015 (U.S.) This is a list of the United States ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs number-one hits of 2015. References {{US Dance Chart United States Dance 2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembranc ...


References


External links

* * {{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Kelly Clarkson songs Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Greg Kurstin Songs written by Mitch Allan Songs written by Kara DioGuardi Songs written by Jason Evigan Songs written by Audra Mae Songs about music Sony Music singles