Kelly Clarkson has debuted the cover art for her new single, "My Life Would Suck Without You," on her Web site. It shows a dolled-up Clarkson holding a heart-shaped lollipop (you know, a sucker — get it?) provocatively near her mouth.
The single, which hits radio on January 19, was written and produced by the team behind Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," Dr. Luke and Max Martin, who also wrote Clarkson's 2004 hit "Since U Been Gone." The song will be featured on her new album, Masquerade, due out March 17.
The song's lyrics have also hit the Net. After some close analysis, they seem to be about a woman in love with a guy, despite the fact that perhaps she should stay away from him: "Being with you is so dysfunctional/ I really shouldn't miss you, but I can't let go," she sings.
And she appears to accept the relationship in the chorus: " 'Cause we belong together now/ Forever united here somehow/ You got a piece of me/ And honestly/ My life would suck without you."
"After 'Since U Been Gone,' we wrote all these songs for Kelly," Dr. Luke explained to EW.com in November. "This one, which I think is the first single — we had the chorus a while ago and added the verse more recently.
"It's sick," he added. "She sings a song in two hours and kills it. You're just like, 'Holy sh--.' She has powerful lungs. She's like the Lance Armstrong of vocal cords."
After the disappointing sales of 2007's My December, Clarkson is "in a period where she wants to take on the pop world again," RCA general manager Tom Corson recently told The Wall Street Journal. "She's ready, and she's got all the right support."
