Breakaway is the second studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson, released on November 30, 2004, by RCA Records. The album is the follow-up to her successful debut album, Thankful (2003). Breakaway sees Clarkson collaborating with various producers and songwriters for the first time, primarily Dr. Luke, Max Martin, John Shanks, Kara DioGuardi, Ben Moody, and David Hodges; the latter two are former members of American rock band Evanescence. Despite the established commercial success of Thankful, music critics still continued to typecast Clarkson as an American Idol winner and were also critical of her attempts of establishing a commercial appeal on her own. Wanting to stray from those, she was convinced by Davis to work with Dr. Luke and Martin in Stockholm, and with Moody and Hodges in Los Angeles, in pursuit of a pop rock direction. This also led her to part ways with her manager Simon Fuller and hire the management services of Jeff Kwatinetz before the album's release. Breakaway is primarily a pop rock record with elements of rock and soul music, marking a departure from the R&B-oriented sound of Thankful; its lyrics explore themes of heartbreak, love, and escapism.
Breakaway received a positive response from music critics, with many commending the album's new-found pop rock sound and Clarkson's vocal performances. It received several awards and nominations, including winning two Grammy Awards and receiving a nomination for a Juno Award. The album became a commercial success worldwide. By selling over 12 million copies worldwide, Breakaway is Clarkson's best selling album of her career so far, and one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century and by a female artist. After debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 in the United States, it stayed on the top twenty of the chart for more than a year, eventually being certified 6× multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of more than six million copies.
Breakaway's singles "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", "Because of You", "Walk Away", and "Breakaway" became worldwide hits and have become some of Clarkson's signature songs. Their successes prompted Billboard to credit her for landscaping the core sound of mainstream pop music as an uptempo dance-oriented sound in the 2000s. Furthermore, Breakaway established Clarkson as one of the four highest-selling acts of Sony BMG in the 2000s. Internationally, the album topped the music charts of Ireland and the Netherlands and became the world's 7th biggest-selling release of 2005, eventually being certified platinum in over 17 countries. To promote the album, Clarkson embarked on three international concert tours from 2005 to 2006: the Breakaway Tour, Hazel Eyes Tour, and the Addicted Tour. Billboard placed the album 77th in the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums. (Full article...)