Kelly Clarkson wants everyone to know that not all love stories can be likened to that of The Notebook (2004) – a romantic film that tells the story of a mill worker falling in love with a rich girl and spending the rest of their lives together. According to Clarkson, it doesn’t paint a realistic picture about what love is.
Instead, she believes the film It’s Complicated (2009) paints a more genuine and naturalistic picture of what love is. The film – which features the likes of Steve Martin, Meryl Streep, and Alec Baldwin – tells the story about a woman who has an affair with her ex-husband, but falls in love with her architect.
In an effort to change the narrative when talking about love, Kelly Clarkson made the comparison in her newest single, ‘i hate love.’ The track was released on June 2 and will be featured on her upcoming album, Chemistry, which is scheduled to release in just a few weeks – June 23, mark your calendars!
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Kelly Clarkson ends up name-dropping The Notebook (2004), Ryan Gosling, It’s Complicated (2009), and Steve Martin in the second verse of the song – which is now the fourth single from the album, joining the likes of ‘Mine’ and ‘Me’ (released on April 14) and ‘Favorite Kind of High’ (released on May 19).
“I hate love / And The Notebook lied / It’s Complicated is more like what happens / So you can keep Gosling and I’ll take Steve Martin / I hate love / And all its shine / Not all that glitters is golden / And sometimes love can leave you behind,” she sings at the beginning of verse two of her newest song.
And it was quite a fitting comparison to make, considering Steve Martin was actually featured on the song. The 77-year-old legendary actor can be heard stringing the banjo as he makes a surprise cameo on an album with just two featured ‘artists.’ And don’t worry – I, too, am just figuring out he plays the banjo.
Steve Martin isn’t the only celebrity with a credit on the song. Nick Jonas, a popular musician in his own right, was credited as a writer on the track – along with her producer, Jesse Shatkin. Together, they helped create the perfect record for an album that promises to illustrate ‘the arc of an entire relationship.’
Kelly Clarkson Talks About Working With Steve Martin
Over the past couple of days, Kelly Clarkson has not only talked about her new single, but has already performed the song in front of a live audience. During that performance, she spoke about how she linked up with Steve Martin on the song – and while they didn’t actually meet, it was a match made in heaven.
“I’m a huge Steve Martin fan because I’m alive and breathing,” she said before performing the song in front of a crowd at The Belasco Theater. “I had this crazy idea, I was telling Jesse Shatkin, my producer, I was like, ‘Do you think he’d play on it, because he’s like a bada** musician?’ And I really wanted banjo.”
She also talked about the song in a new interview with Talk Shop Live. “I feel like ‘It’s Complicated,’ which is the other movie I reference in [the song] — it’s just more real life. It’s more like what might happen, rather than the other one. So, I just kind of feel like we’re sold on things,” she said recently.
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Kelly Clarkson went on to say that, while the perfect love story does exist for some, we often set ourselves up for failure by setting high expectations for ourselves – expectations that are almost never met in full. And as far as Steve Martin is concerned, she says he really enjoyed being name-dropped.