Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” Hits a Major Milestone as Her First Track to Surpass 1 Billion Streams on Spotify
By Website Content Manager
The pop-rock track originally debuted as the second single from Clarkson’s 2004 album Breakaway.
Cheers to Kelly Clarkson!
The 43-year-old singer and daytime TV host has officially entered Spotify’s Billions Club after her smash hit “Since U Been Gone” surpassed 1 billion plays on the streaming service.
The pop-rock anthem, originally released as the second single from her 2004 album Breakaway, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It later earned platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over a million copies — although that certification hasn’t been updated since 2006.
“Since U Been Gone” earned Clarkson a Grammy in 2006 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and its music video picked up two MTV Video Music Awards the previous year — Best Female Video and Best Pop Video.
The smash hit was created by Max Martin and Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald. During a 2023 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Clarkson opened up about the challenging circumstances behind the song’s creation after Clive Davis claimed in his 2013 memoir that she disliked the track.
She explained that she had been misled during the process. “Here’s the real story,” she said. “I was told some producers wanted to collaborate on a track that had placeholder lyrics and that I was supposed to write to it.” But when she flew to Sweden to meet Martin and Gottwald, she learned they had already completed the song — and weren’t aware she had been instructed to write new lyrics.
“I felt embarrassed,” Clarkson recalled. “The label told me something totally different. That was a huge red flag. Why lie? That’s what gave me bad feelings about the whole situation. Those details usually get left out.”
Still, she acknowledged that performing the song is undeniably fun.
“I can compartmentalize really well, so I can put all that aside and absolutely nail it onstage,” she added. “I’d never skip it.”
While “Since U Been Gone” is currently her only track to cross the 1-billion-stream threshold on Spotify, several of her other hits are quickly closing in. “Underneath the Tree” has racked up more than 863 million streams, and both “Because of You” and “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” have each exceeded 800 million.