Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway' Turns 20: Tracks Ranked From Worst to Best

Filing under perfectly adequate but completely unnecessary. A story of a relationship suffering from substance abuse, Secession's closest it had appeared to its predecessor Grateful in a more expansive form of MOR pop. But disappointed that his over-the-top production – courtesy of Matthew Wilder with an 80s twist – had obscured his message, the singer opted for a reprise, this time with just a piano for accompaniment. As always, Clarkson's vocals are flawless. But whisper it quietly: the original “Beautiful Disaster” is much more interesting. It's a strange conclusion to an otherwise looking forward album. Listen here.

There really is no mess in between Secessionhis brand new compositions. But “Hear Me” has to take the wooden spoon thanks to a borderline chorus. The album's most Evanescence track is not penned by band members David Hodges and Ben Moody, who co-wrote two tracks on this album. Instead, it is one of six numbers written by the future American Idol Judge Kara DioGuardi. Clarkson, who is described song as a prayer to God to find her soul mate (remember Tinder didn't exist in 2004), she makes it her own, obviously. But it's not exactly surprising that he performed it only after the album's many tours. Listen here.

One of the SecessionIn her rare favorite moments, “You Found Me” finds Clarkson waxing lyrical about the then-boyfriend who stood by her side at times (“Yeah, you broke/All my confusion/The ups and downs/ And you still ain't gone”). Admittedly, its shift from melancholic acoustic to powerhouse pop-rock (echoing the “sprock” with which the singer Anastacia topped the European charts earlier that year) makes it sound like two different songs slapped together. But it's a refreshing change in tone from all the doom and gloom elsewhere. Listen here.

“I Hate Myself For Losing You” is also extreme in that instead of venting her anger on a man who wronged her, Clarkson admits that this time she's the one to blame. (“Looking into an empty room/I've got myself to blame/ For the situation I'm in today.”) The singer sounds genuinely contrite and remorseful for her self-sabotage on a track that recalls the poppiest moments on Alanis' juggernaut Morissette Jagged little pill. Clarkson committed herself so fiercely to the “one that got away” that she was stuck in a situation depression for a week. Listen here.

Clarkson was named “Addicted” as one of two favorite songs he had recorded while on the promotional circuit for Secessionwhich explains why her 2006 tour was named in her honor. Fans who prefer it Idol the winner with the most voices would no doubt have rated it just as high. With an orchestral arrangement that sounds tailor-made for a James Bond theme, a chorus with angst and not exactly subtle metaphor (“It's like being on a drug,” is the first line to completely remove any uncertainty), “Addicted” foreshadowed the harder sound that dominated afterwards My December. Listen here.

“Where Is Your Heart” was co-written with DioGuardi and Chantal Kreviazuk, the singer-songwriter who has collaborated with Idol alumni David Cook, Jessica Mauboy and Carrie Underwood; It's no surprise, then, that the heartfelt power ballad is the closest Secession arrives at the beginning of Clarkson's talent show. Inspired by a brief (and seemingly unsatisfying) relationship (“Well, I don't expect the world to move from under me/But for God's sake, you could try”), “Where Is Your Heart” gives the singer plenty of opportunities to show off her impressive lung power. As you'd expect, he knocks it out of the park every time. Listen here.

Still only 22 at the time of his recording, Clarkson freely admissible that he had not experienced many of the emotions that Secession faced, including the unbridled fury of “Gone.” Despite this, she still fully convinces as a woman scorned determined to give her the ultimate kiss that would do no good. “Your eyes sparkled/It all turned to lies that fall like acid rain/You washed the best out of me” is just one of several zingers deployed with determination on a propulsive pop-rock track that could easily have been the sixth of the album single. Listen here.

SecessionHis infectious fifth and final single (a No. 12 hit on the Hot 100) sees Clarkson once again waging war, this time toward an untrustworthy ex who seems stuck in a dead end (“You've got your mother and your brother /Every other secret/I tell you what to say”). The message of 'Walk Away' can be decidedly sharp. But topped off with a feel-good video in which a bunch of day laborers — including a hairdresser, a cleaner and a ketchup-bottle-wielding waitress — feel compelled to sing and dance in the middle of their shifts, its sound is refreshingly upbeat. Listen here.

Secessionits title track was a remains from Avril Lavigne's Let fall before being repurposed for the soundtrack to the 2004 blockbuster film, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. As she's proven time and time again through her Kellyoke sessions, Clarkson can instantly make any song her own—and the theme of a small-town girl fighting for her dream could have been written specifically for her regardless. The interim single subsequently reached No. 6 on the Hot 100, spent 21 weeks at the top of the Adult Contemporary chart and laid the groundwork for the reinvention of pop-rock ahead. Listen here.

The emphatic angst-rock of “Behind These Hazel Eyes” was unfortunately overshadowed by his two career-defining singles between them (despite its impressive peak of No. 6 on the Hot 100). However, it is almost as much a tour-de-force. It is described by Clarkson as a song “about the dipstick that totally broke and now he's unhappy and you're happy” (rumor has it Hodges' ears must have been burning), the heartbreaking anthem proved that Secession he had many more tricks up his sleeve. Its emphatic middle eight (“Swallow me then spit me out/For hating you, I blame myself”) is arguably the best in Clarkson's work. Listen here.

Clarkson's label laughed when she introduced 'Because of You', the poignant ballad she wrote in her mid-teens, for inclusion on her debut. Of course, he got the last laugh when, after some nagging by Evanescence collaborators, the track made the cut for Secessionthen became no. 7 Hot 100 hit, MTV VMA winner and No. 1 for four weeks on Pop Airplay. Directly addressing the father who abandoned her as a youngster, the brooding piano number featured Clarkson at her most vulnerable (“My heart can't be broken/When it wasn't even whole to begin with” is a particularly poignant line) and proved that she is also a gifted storyteller. Listen here.

Of course, “Since U Been Gone” was always at the top of this list. Inspired by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' “Maps” (“If they'd just put a damn pop choir on it!” co-writer/co-producer Max Martin's motivation, according to co-writer/co-producer Dr. Luke), the monster hit brought the quiet verse/powerful chorus formula to pop, revolutionizing the chart landscape of the latter half of the decade in process. Notably, the star was initially unconvinced about the gleeful smackdown on an ex. But since winning a Grammy, she created an iconic video from the apartments and gave Clarkson a No. 2 Hot 100 smash (50 Cent's “Candy Shop” kept it out of the top spot), it's now widely accepted as both a signature song and a genuine 21st-century classic. Listen here.