Kelly Clarkson's sophomore attempt, after being discovered on the hugely popular reality television show American Idol, is definitely better overall that her first. That being said, it's important for listeners to remember what sort of competition she was a contestant in. She won the search for a pop singer. Not a song writer, or a rock star, etc. Ultimately, she won because she has a great voice and viewers saw something in her that they liked. She pretty much won because of her image, and was then handed a recording contract and some quick songs for her first album, which was guaranteed to sell even if it was horrible. On this second album, she has become more independent, but still stays true to her obviously pop roots. She's is credited with co-writing many of the songs, and does add a slight R&B edge, but knows what fans of American Idol want to hear (and thus buy). The production is better here than it was on 'Thankful', and you can tell it wasn't thrown together quite so quickly and carelessly, which makes for a much better CD.

The album opens with the cheesy, quasi-inspirational 'Breakaway'. Co-penned by Avril Lavigne, I actually liked this song the first couple of times I heard it. Now, however, it's begun to grate on me, and I find myself skipping it. It was featured on the Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack, and was accompanied with a horrendous music video not up to the standards of the singles which have followed it. Namely, the second track and second single to drop from 'Breakaway', 'Since U Been Gone' is a much better song and has a good video to match. Though it was even more overplayed than the title track, I've found it to be much less annoying. It has a strong beat which builds steadily before hitting the chorus, which hits hard before fading back into the simple beat that lead up to it. The lyrics are simple and "high school", but precisely what you'd expect to hear from a young pop singer.

'Behind These Hazel Eyes' is a good track, but not one of my personal favourites. It opens with strong drum beats before settling into a simple beat which Kelly keeps her vocals in perfect time with. With some quick pounding on the drums, the chorus opens and the vocals turn into louder, almost angry-sounding shouts. Kelly does get a chance to show off her vocal range with drawn out vocals and a few high notes nearing the end of the track, which is what salvages this song from being hopelessly forgettable. A reviewer favourite, 'Because Of You' is a simple, sweet, and sincere track. When reading the title, I expected a cheesy love song thanking someone, but what I got was so much different. The song actually refers to someone who has had an extremely deep impact on one's personal happiness and fear. Kelly's vocals really show-off a wide range of emotion in this track, which makes it believable. Though I'm sure it was written very much about very personal experiences, it was written in such a way that makes it extremely relatable for the average listener. The song is extremely beautiful and heartbreaking.

'Gone' turns the tables drastically after the previous track. It speeds up and has a strong beat. Sounding full of strength, Kelly sings about ending a relationship and all the reasons why she's doing so. This is one of the most up-tempo tracks on the album and it's easy to sing and dance along to, but it's (surprisingly) also very forgettable. My favourite part comes with the quick lyrics "you know you did it" right before the chorus starts. Another one of my favourite songs on the album, 'Addicted' has a very dark, dramatic theme. The vocals are very breath-y and the music is exceedingly gripping. The chorus is an angry, yet desperate cry for help and longing to escape the hold a certain person possesses, but the music in the verses is extremely calm and haunting. This is a beautiful, brilliantly done track, the music, lead vocals, and background vocals come together perfectly to create an extremely theatrical piece. Definitely one of the best off of 'Breakaway'.

The album slows down with 'Where Is Your Heart', a sad, but unfortunately boring track. Though she still sounds good, I feel as though Kelly's vocals somewhat slipped on this song. I don't find myself really believing what she's saying, as though she didn't believe what she was singing herself. There is one note nearing the end that Kelly hits which sounds good, but even that one note I feel could have been done better. It starts out strong and seems like it's going to redeem the song, but then falls flat, leaving the listener wanting more. 'Walk Away' has silly, school-girl lyrics that could have been done better, but the music isn't completely hopeless. Good for pop fans who just want to dance along in their seats, if you're good at ignoring stupid lyrics, there's a chance you'll like this song. I find the drums to be the most interesting aspect of this track, but I still skip this song a fair bit.

The ninth track, 'You Found Me' begins with a slightly mysterious tone. Kelly sings about how she had become "comfortably numb", a reference to my favourite Pink Floyd song (and one of my favourite songs of all time), which annoys me for whatever reason. This is a sweet song which really doesn't need much explaining past reading the title. Obviously, it refers to being found and understood by a certain someone, when no one else bothered to do so. 'I Hate Myself For Losing You' sounds very much like 'You Found Me', except the lyrics are much better. Definitely not an "empowering" song, since it obviously refers to hating oneself simply because of the loss of a significant other. The chorus features some heavy breathing in the background (think of Britney Spears' 'Slave 4 U' to get the idea) which sounds interesting and adds depth, but not a trashy edge, as you may expect. At the end, the lyrics change to "I hate myself for loving you" rather than "losing you" which is an interesting dynamic, barely noticeable, but it sounds perfect.

The dramatic 'Hear Me' is Kelly's desperate cry for the one she's been waiting for to hear her and come to rescue her. The pleas that come through the chorus are haunting and brilliant. Unfortunately, the verses fail to reach the same amount of depth, which really hurts the song overall. The end where Kelly simply repeats "hear me" over and over is amazing and finishes the song off extremely well. The live version of 'Beautiful Disaster' is absolutely stunning. I prefer it to the original (which can be heard on Kelly's first album, 'Thankful'). I think it was recorded during a live broadcast of American Idol, when Kelly came back in a later season to perform. On this song you can really hear the range in her voice, and how truly talented she is. She's on-key for the entire song (of course, I suppose they wouldn't have put it on the album if she wasn't), and the audience really responds to her when she hits high notes. This version also sounds more emotional than the original, which I always enjoy. Honestly, I'd say it's worth the purchase of the entire album just to hear this one song, it's that good.

I would recommend Kelly Clarkson's 'Breakaway' to all fans of Kelly Clarkson, American Idol, or pop music in general. If you don't like pop music, it's obviously a waste of time for you to even be reading this, so don't bother buying the album. If you enjoyed 'Thankful', you're sure to like this album, since it still focuses on Kelly's strengths (such as hitting strong notes), but with much superior, better produced material. If you're reluctant, try to listen to the album beforehand, or judge accordingly as to whether you like the first few singles to drop from it.