Miss Independent

Two other artists turned this song down before it made its way to Kelly Clarkson. The song is the brainchild of producer Rhett Lawrence, who came up with the chorus and offered it to Destiny's Child, who turned it down. He then brought it to Christina Aguilera, who added lyrics to it with songwriter Matt Morris, but decided not to use it on her Stripped album as intended, so Lawrence brought the song to Clarkson, who wrote the bridge and finished the song before recording it with Lawrence producing. Four songwriters are credited on the track: Clarkson, Lawrence, Morris and Aguilera.

In this song, Clarkson sings about a girl who avoids rejection by not letting any man get too close. She takes care of herself without anyone's help and is proud of her independence, but it takes its toll emotionally. Finally, she finds love and realizes how much better life can be with another person there for support.

Clarkson was the first winner of the American Idol competition, which she won in 2002. This was her second single, after "A Moment Like This," a ballad that received a great deal of support from American Idol, where Clarkson performed it. "Miss Independent" was a huge boost for Clarkson, as it established her as a legitimate singer and songwriter outside of the American Idol machine. It served as a template for future Clarkson hits like "Since U Been Gone" and "Walk Away," where lyrically, she sings about being tough in relationships and musically, she explodes into the chorus from relatively quiet verses.

In an interview with the TV show Access Hollywood, Clarkson admitted that she did not know Aguilera wrote this song until after it was on the album. At the time, Clarkson was still defining her image, and her look appeared influenced by Aguilera, especially when Clarkson got a nose ring.