Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time and author Jim Adams from A Unique Title For Me is our current guest host. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.

The theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week is “North/South/East/West.”

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As a female pop singer, Kelly Clarkson has expressed frustration that for years her appearance, particularly her weight, has been a constant topic of discussion. This led her to write a song that said “Yeah, you’re right, I am a whole lot of woman, and it’s okay. I came with a brain, and I came with drive and passion and sensuality, and these things that are awesome. If you can’t handle it, that’s totally cool, but you’re not tall enough to ride this ride, then move along. It’s fine.”

Clarkson, who grew up in Texas, remarked in a profile on The New York Times that the song’s inspiration came from the challenges of being a financially secure woman looking for a man after internalizing the paradoxes of growing up in the South. Clarkson says that in the South women are told, “We want to educate you and we want you to be intelligent, but not too intelligent to where you’re intimidating; we want you to be beautiful, but not too sexy to where you’re a slut; we want you to be successful but not so successful that you make someone feel uncomfortable.”

After a conversation Clarkson had with the NOVA Wav duo–Denisia Andrews and Brittany Coney–in a session in Los Angeles, the anthem Whole Lotta Woman was penned.

Whole Lotta Woman is from Kelly’s eighth studio album, Meaning of Life, and to promote the album’s release, Clarkson debuted Whole Lotta Woman in a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on October 31, 2017.

FUN FACTS

• • The song lyrics allude to the size of Clarkson’s waistline, her attitude, her self-worth, and her mouth using references to Southern cooking and singer Tina Turner.
  • Members of the American soul band Earth, Wind & Fire, led by bass player Verdine White, were invited by Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman to play on the track.
  • Critical reception of the song was mixed. It reached number 142 on Billboard’s US Digital Songs chart.

Alas, I was incapable of choosing a favorite video, so I posted THREE! 😀 😀 😀 No harm, no foul though. They’re all live performances from 1) a Nashville studio session, 2) the 2019 Billboard Music Awards, and 3) The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Watch one or watch all three…they’re all amazing!

Enjoy!

See my Song Lyric Sunday selection for Nesie’s Place!

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Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.

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