All I Ever Wanted

1	My Life Would Suck Without You 3:32
2	I Do Not Hook Up 3:20
3	Cry 3:34
4	Don't Let Me Stop You 3:20
5	All I Ever Wanted 3:59
6	Already Gone 4:41
7	If I Can't Have You 3:39
8	Save You 4:03
9	Whyyawannabringmedown 2:42
10	Long Shot 3:36
11	Impossible 3:23
12	Ready 3:05
13	I Want You 3:31
14	If No One Will Listen 4:03

Barnes & Noble

In 2007, Kelly Clarkson rebelled against her label and her mentor, Clive Davis, by co-writing most of the somber My December. Although the record went platinum, it paled in comparison to her multiplatinum breakthrough, 2004’s Breakaway. So what’s a bar-setting American Idol champ to do? One listen to “My Life Would Suck without You,” the catchy “Since You Been Gone”-reminiscent single from her third disc, All I Ever Wanted, and it’s clear that the answer is to return to the girl-power pop anthems that made Clarkson a star in the first place. Standouts include the heart-tugger “Cry” and the angry kiss-off “Don’t Let Me Stop You” -- either of which could easily be adopted as the theme song for ABC’s The Bachelor series. Clarkson, like her feisty pop peer Pink, knows how to touch the angst-ridden and lovelorn teenage girl in all women, and even macho men were powerless against the infectious “Since You’ve Been Gone.” That’s the audience for the Katy Perry-penned “I Do Not Hook Up,” and the Joan Jett-lite “Whyyawannabringmedown.” On the second half of All I Ever Wanted, however, Clarkson experiments with mixed results on several tracks, including the winning, contemporary R&B-tinged “Impossible” and “I Want You,” an uninspired nod to the retro sound popularized by Duffy and Amy Winehouse. That minor misstep aside, the pop princess still delivers what her fans want and then some. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

Thankfully, All I Ever Wanted is not Kelly Clarkson's atonement for insisting on releasing the dark, gothic rock record My December against the wishes of label boss Clive Davis in 2007 -- well, at least not entirely. All I Ever Wanted doesn't completely abandon the tougher rock edges of My December, but it does ditch the brooding in favor of angry spunk, all the better to prove that the girl who sang "Since U Been Gone" is back. And she is -- quite self-consciously on "My Life Would Suck Without You," the first track and first single on All I Ever Wanted, a song designed by Max Martin to be an explicit sequel to his "Since U Been Gone." It's effective, if a bit clinical, running contrary to Clarkson's greatest gift: her genuineness. My December might not have quite worked, but its messiness seemed an authentic reflection of a girl next door sorting through the aftermath of turning into an unexpected star and much of All I Ever Wanted is the opposite, attempting to run the most likeable pop star of the new millennium through the mill. Fortunately, it's possible to dampen Clarkson's spirit -- nobody could survive four Ryan Tedder collaborations without being brought down into his simpering murk -- but not to break it. She can break through Martin's machinations on "My Life" and comes pretty close to breathing some life into Tedder's cold R&B approximations, but those chilly sheets of synths don't suit her. Kelly is at her best when she's belting out a big chorus backed by loud guitars, or even singing a piece of pure pop like "I Want You," as effervescent a tune as she's ever sung. About half of All I Ever Wanted is as good as this and some of it even touches on Clarkson's hard rock infatuation and improves it, particularly on the bubblegum punk "Whyyawannabringmedown" -- complete with Kelly affecting a hysterical Johnny Rotten snarl -- the arena rocker "Don't Let Me Stop You," and "All I Ever Wanted," which turns the disco bass of Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On" upside down. Tellingly, Kelly takes two Katy Perry-written numbers (both produced by Howard Benson)-- "I Do Not Hook Up," co-written by new American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, and "Long Shot," co-written by Glen Ballard -- and goes a long way in illustrating why she's a better pop star. Kelly sounds impassioned and invested in these numbers, selling every one of the skyscraper hooks, but better still she sounds relatable, pulling listeners into a song instead of keeping them at a distance. This is a rare talent and while it's not perfect, largely due to those dreary Tedder tunes, much of All I Ever Wanted does justice to Clarkson's considerable skills. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone

Clarkson's voice remains one of the most powerful in pop, and on Wanted it flattens everything in its path, blasting through piano ballads, chirpy retrosoul and, on "Whyyawannabringmedown," a kind of AM-radio punk. Jody Rosen

Entertainment Weekly

There are feisty independent-woman anthems (''I Do Not Hook Up,'' co-written by Katy Perry and Kara DioGuardi, and the ''Since U Been Gone''-style kiss-off ''Don't Let Me Stop You'') and soaring, impeccably constructed power ballads (''Already Gone,'' ''Save You''). [B+] Leah Greenblatt