Kelly Clarkson has a ‘Dark Side,’ but she wants you to love her anyway, on the latest in a series of leaked songs that could be old demos or new album tracks.
Lyrically, ‘Dark Side’ does a nice job of conveying difficult truths while trying to stay upbeat and positive. Likewise, the music nicely mixes hushed, somber sections with catchier passages, like the hook, “Everybody’s got a dark side / Do you love me, can you love mine? / Nobody’s a picture perfect / But we’re worth it, you know that we’re worth it.”
Clarkson opens the song by baring her soul to a potential mate: “There’s a place that I know / It’s not pretty there and few have ever gone / If I show it to you now, will it make you run away / Or will you stay, even if it hurts?” The singer lets loose as she screams, “Don’t run away / Just promise me you will stay!” The song ends before we hear her crush’s response, but given her impassioned pleas, we bet he’ll be sticking around.
‘Dark Side’ isn’t quite as infectious as ‘Let Me Down,’ but it would be a solid album track, if not a potential single. Clarkson’s next album, due in September, will be the follow-up to ‘All I Ever Wanted,’ which produced hits ‘My Life Would Suck Without You,’ I Do Not Hook Up,’ and ‘Already Gone.’