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Reviews for Piece by Piece by Kelly Clarkson - Metacritic
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Piece by Piece - Kelly Clarkson
Piece by Piece Image
Metascore
63

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Ratings

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  • Summary: The seventh studio release for the pop singer features a guest appearance from John Legend.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. The Observer (UK)
    Mar 2, 2015
    80
    Only the didactic, Jessie J-esque I Had a Dream mars an album loaded with laser-guided, heartfelt pop.
  2. Billboard.com
    Mar 2, 2015
    70
    When Clarkson forges a real emotional connection--like on the raw, personal title track, another standout vocal showcase--the album transcends the hammier, more hackneyed moments in between.
  3. Boston Globe
    Mar 3, 2015
    70
    Clarkson can, of course, sell all of this and sounds great doing it. But the cumulative effect of all that bigness can be wearing by album’s end.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Feb 27, 2015
    60
    Clarkson has been mining this territory since before Swift even landed her first record deal, and songs that should ostensibly inspire nostalgia (like the pointedly titled aerobics workout "Nostalgic") instead feel like they just rolled off a conveyor belt.
  5. All Music Guide
    Mar 2, 2015
    60
    These cuts ["Let Your Tears Fall," "Good Goes the Bye," and "Nostalgic"], along with the title track, manage to strike the right balance of Kelly's indomitable character and fresh electronic beats but overall Piece by Piece sounds a shade too desperate, which means it winds up having the opposite effect than intended: instead of sounding like a new start, Clarkson sounds a little bit behind the times.
  6. The New York Times
    Mar 2, 2015
    60
    Every song aims for the monumental, a strategy that’s competitive for radio play but wearying over the course of a whole album.
  7. New York Daily News (Jim Faber)
    Mar 3, 2015
    40
    Piece By Piece piles on the gloss and glop. It’s a fat sounding recording that fights with, rather than enhances, Clarkson’s to-the-rafters vocals.

See all 12 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. lennah
    Mar 3, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When I heard 'Heartbeat Song', I was disappointed, but the whole album is kinda amazing! Her vocals are soooooo good! Run Run Run is amazing too, John's vocals sounds so great with Kelly's. … Expand
  2. NandaKC
    Mar 4, 2015
    10
    light hearted and powerfull, can't find anything to complain about this album! Amazing voice, amazing lyrics, amazing album! The hormones light hearted and powerfull, can't find anything to complain about this album! Amazing voice, amazing lyrics, amazing album! The hormones worked great during the record of this album, soul full and solid … Expand
  3. DadoCro
    Mar 3, 2015
    10
    One of the pop albums released this year. Kelly worked very hard on this record and she deserves a high scores for it. Highlights: whole album One of the pop albums released this year. Kelly worked very hard on this record and she deserves a high scores for it. Highlights: whole album sans Heartbeat Song. … Expand
  4. j1train
    Mar 3, 2015
    8
    She has never made a bad album. She's also never made a great one. But this is her strongest, most mature pop record yet with a more cohesive She has never made a bad album. She's also never made a great one. But this is her strongest, most mature pop record yet with a more cohesive sound and fewer flops. Like all of them though -- save 'My December' -- the album takes few risks.

    Part of the problem is that she only co-writes three main tracks, leaving the rest of the album to writers obsessed with perfect pop songs. Her own writing elicits more honest performances and lyrics. If the self-penned title track is a sign of things to come, then let's hope she drops the arena-anthem hitmakers.

    Her voice has never been the problem. Why her team feel the need to produce each track to a full-bodied aggression that matches and sometimes overpowers her vocals is beyond me. Break some of these tracks down to simpler productions and they might have greater impact.     … Expand
  5. KTX05
    Mar 4, 2015
    7
    What's been bugging me about all of the reviews for this album is that they're so focused on comparing Kelly to other artists. Kelly has, in What's been bugging me about all of the reviews for this album is that they're so focused on comparing Kelly to other artists. Kelly has, in my opinion, a voice that should be considered one of the all-time greats; she can belt (and out-belt) with the best and she truly -feels- her music.

    That being said, Kelly isn't really an 'artist', per say. "All I Ever Wanted" and "Stronger" felt more like a 'best of' compilation off a season of Idol than actual albums, not to say that there weren't great moment on both of them.

    This fact is what makes "Piece by Piece" so exciting to me. It sounds like Kelly isn't just moving her sound forward, but actually making a cohesive album in the process; all of these songs belong together. Not only that, but Kelly's also making some great leaps forward in 'artistry' as well.

    "Take You High" sound like nothing she's recorded before and for the first time in awhile it sounds like she's trend-setting instead of trend-chasing. The song is a true album and career high. Then right after that comes "Piece by Piece," a track that feels like one of the most genuine moments Kelly's ever record. A few lyrical stumbles here and there, but for the most part the track rings true...and her voice is phenomenal.

    But with all the highs come a few lows: "Run Run Run" is beautifully sung, but a bit sleepy, "I Had a Dream" is a tad too self-important and not quite catchy enough, and "Dance With Me" is a lot of fun, but runs a little long.

    All that being said, though, this is one of Kelly's stronger efforts. "Invincible" and "Someone" could make for great singles, and every track assisted by Sia is, as excepted, strong and well delivered. This isn't Kelly's manifesto (that might have been "Breakaway"...might be an album yet to come) but it shows a performer slowly becoming an artist.     … Expand
  6. Sam123
    Mar 3, 2015
    6
    This is a stale CD that comes across as so junior high. The only really memorable song is "Run Run Run." Honestly, I think a better name for This is a stale CD that comes across as so junior high. The only really memorable song is "Run Run Run." Honestly, I think a better name for this album would have been "Weaker." ;) … Expand
  7. longjetty7
    Mar 4, 2015
    4
    Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a hater at all. I've seen Kelly live and her voice is just as amazing now as it was then. That Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a hater at all. I've seen Kelly live and her voice is just as amazing now as it was then. That being said, this album is painfully bland. At least half the songs have the same I V vi IV chord progression, the production is pretty uniform throughout, and her lyrics are just as happy and dull as you'd expect from someone who just had a baby. So basically, you'll either love it all or hate it all. To be fair, there's nothing here that's downright bad, per se, but there's also nothing edgy or creative (except the vocal sampling in Take You High, perhaps), and an hour of songs that sound like countless others you've heard before is just tiresome. … Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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