{{About|the Kelly Clarkson song|the Cynthia Erivo album|I Forgive You (album)|the Sia song|Reasonable Woman (album)}} {{Infobox song | name = I Forgive You | cover = | alt = | type = song | artist = Kelly Clarkson | album = Stronger | released = October 21, 2011 | recorded = February – April 2011 | studio = 2nd Floor Studios in Hollywood, California | genre = {{hlist|Pop rock|power pop}} | length = 3:04 | label = RCA | writer = * Rodney Jerkins * Andre Lindal * Lauren Christy | producer = * Darkchild * Andre Lindal }}
"'''I Forgive You'''" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson, included on her fifth studio album ''Stronger'' (2011). It was produced and co-written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and Andre Lindal, with extra writing and background vocals from Lauren Christy. Musically, "I Forgive You" is a pop rock and power pop song.
The song has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Due to digital sales after the album's release, the song charted at number 1 in South Korea, becoming Clarkson's second number one song after "Mr. Know It All".
== Background and composition == "I Forgive You" is a pop rock<ref name="THR 1"/><ref name="Billboard 1"/> and power pop song<ref name="Reuters"/> with a length of 3:04 (3 minutes and 4 seconds), fueled by rumbling guitars and drums,<ref name="Seattle 1" /><ref name="PopCrush 1" /> with its lyrical content dealing with themes about forgiveness of relationships. It was written by Darkchild, Andre Lindal, and Lauren Christy, with additional background vocals by Christy. The track also marked the first time Darkchild (who was prominently known for producing R&B and hip hop tracks) produced a pop rock song and he pitched it to Clarkson who agreed the same evening.<ref name="THR 1" /><ref name="MTV 1" /> Brent Paschke, a guitarist for the American pop rock band Spymob, played the guitars along with Dan Warner of the production duo Los Gringo. Lee Levin, also of Los Gringo, performed the drums; and Thaddaeus Tribbett, a bassist for English recording artist Estelle, performed the bass guitar on the song. In July 2011, a demo of the song was leaked online.<ref name="MTV 2" />
== Critical reception == "I Forgive You" has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Chris Willman of Reuters remarked that the song "sounds like nothing but power-pop fun, even though its Cars-style rock riffage and synth gurgles lead into a surprisingly cathartic expression of absolution."<ref name="Reuters" /> Jason Lipshutz of ''Billboard'' pointed out that the song has the most arresting opening line, but also noted that "If only the rest of the song didn't go through the pop-rock motions."<ref name="Billboard 1" /> Jason Scott of ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' remarked, "Chalking up {{sic|wreckless|expected=reckless}} behavior to not being old enough to know better, the tune lays "no shame, no blame" on the contagious lyrics and Clarkson's ability to make everything out of nothing."<ref name="Seattle 1" /> Jon Caramanica of ''The New York Times'' pointed out its similarities with Clarkson's previous songs, most notably "Since U Been Gone" (2004), but noted that "this happens on all of Ms. Clarkson's albums, though — the shadow of that song, one of the pop highlights of the last decade, is too long to dodge completely."<ref name="New York Times" /> Matt Busekroos of the ''Quinnipiac Chronicle'' remarked that the song "is a fun pop track, but this one sounds like a retread of past songs."<ref name="Quinnipiac" />
== Chart performance and live performances == Boosted by digital sales following the album's release, "I Forgive You" debuted at the Gaon Single Chart with 170,655 copies on the week ending 29 October 2011.<ref name="Gaon chart" /> It stayed at the top the following week with 122,856 copies,<ref name="Gaon chart 2" /> before descending to number 2 with 59,707 copies.<ref name="Gaon chart 3" /> Clarkson included the song on the set list of the two concert tours supporting ''Stronger'', the Stronger Tour and the 2012 Summer Tour.<ref name="New York Times 2" /><ref name="THR 2" />
==Credits and personnel== Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Stronger''.<ref name="Liner notes" />
'''Personnel''' * Songwriting — Rodney Jerkins, Andre Lindal, Lauren Christy * Production — Darkchild, Andre Lindal * Vocals — Kelly Clarkson * Background vocals — Kelly Clarkson, Lauren Christy * Bass — Thaddaeus Tribbett * Drums — Lee Levin * Recording engineers — Eric Greedy, Mike Donaldson, Orlando Vitto
== Charts == {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (2011) ! scope="col"| Peak<br>position |- !scope="row" | South Korea International Singles (Gaon Chart)<ref name="Gaon chart" /> | style="text-align:center;"|1 |}
== See also == * List of number-one international songs of 2011 (South Korea)
==References== {{Reflist|2|refs= <ref name="THR 1">{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/idol-worship/rodney-jerkins-idol-worship-interview-174395 |title=Rodney Jerkins: The 'Idol Worship' Interview |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |first=Shirley |last=Halperin |date=4 April 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="THR 2">{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/kelly-clarkson-concert-taj-mahal-atlantic-city-282453 |title=Kelly Clarkson Gets Personal at Atlantic City Tour Stop: Concert Review |work=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |first=y Michele Amabile |last=Angermiller |date=16 January 2012 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="MTV 1">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658468/kelly-clarkson-studio.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227023239/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658468/kelly-clarkson-studio.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 27, 2011 |title=Kelly Clarkson Hits The Studio With Darkchild, 'American Idol' vet teams up with 'Telephone' writer/producer for upcoming album |work=MTV |publisher=Viacom Media Networks |date=22 February 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="MTV 2">{{cite web |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1667029/kelly-clarkson-songs-leak.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713022842/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1667029/kelly-clarkson-songs-leak.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 13, 2011 |title=More Kelly Clarkson Songs Leak Online, 'What Doesn't Kill You,' 'I Forgive You' and 'Dumb + Dumb = U' hit the Internet over the weekend, following earlier leak of 'Let Me Down.' |work=MTV |publisher=Viacom Media Networks |date=11 July 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-review-kellyclarkson-idUSTRE79O05Y20111025 |title=Review - Kelly Clarkson "Stronger" lives up to title |last=Willman |first=Chris |newspaper=The Wrap |publisher=Reuters |date=24 October 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="Billboard 1">{{cite magazine| url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/465527/kelly-clarkson-stronger-track-by-track-review |title=Kelly Clarkson, 'Stronger': Track-By-Track Review |last=Lipshutz |first=Jason |location=New York, NY |magazine=Billboard | publisher=Prometheus Global Media |date=24 October 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="Seattle 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/blogcritics/article/Music-Review-Kelly-Clarkson-Stronger-Deluxe-2242878.php#page-2 |title=Music Review: Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (Deluxe Edition) |last=Scott |first=Jason |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |publisher=Hearst Corporation |date=29 October 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="New York Times">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/arts/music/kelly-clarkson-and-deer-tick-new-album-reviews.html?_r=0 |title=Former 'American Idol' Now the Voice of Vengeance |author1=Caramanica, John |author2=Chinen, Nate |work=The New York Times |date=25 October 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="New York Times 2">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/arts/music/kelly-clarkson-at-radio-city-music-hall-review.html |title=Music review — Happily Up to Her Ears in Angst |author=Caramanica, John |work=The New York Times |date=22 January 2012 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="Quinnipiac">{{cite web|url=http://www.quchronicle.com/2011/10/clarkson-redeems-her-%E2%80%98idol%E2%80%99-status-with-%E2%80%98stronger%E2%80%99/ |title=Clarkson Redeems her 'Idol' Status with 'Stronger' |author=Busekroos, Matt |publisher=Quinnipiac Chronicle |date=25 October 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="PopCrush 1">{{cite web|url=http://popcrush.com/kelly-clarkson-stronger-album-review/ |title=Kelly Clarkson — 'Stronger' — Album review |author=Lansky, Sam |publisher=Popcrush.com |date=24 October 2011 |access-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> <ref name="Liner notes">{{cite AV media notes|others=Kelly Clarkson|title=Stronger|year=2011|type= inlay cover|publisher= RCA Records, 19 Recordings}}</ref> <ref name="Gaon chart">{{cite web|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon |script-title=ko:가온차트와 함께하세요 |language=ko |work=Gaon Single Chart |publisher=Korea Music Content Industry Association |trans-title=South Korea "Gaon" international sales - 29 October 2011 |quote=To access, select "2011" as chart year and select the chart period "10/23/2011 - 10/29/2011" |access-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219094524/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon |archive-date=December 19, 2012 }}</ref> <ref name="Gaon chart 2">{{cite web|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon |script-title=ko:가온차트와 함께하세요 |language=ko |work=Gaon Single Chart |publisher=Korea Music Content Industry Association |trans-title=South Korea "Gaon" international sales - 29 October 2011 |quote=To access, select "2011" as chart year and select the chart period "10/30/2011 - 11/05/2011" |access-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219094524/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon |archive-date=December 19, 2012 }}</ref> <ref name="Gaon chart 3">{{cite web|url=http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon |script-title=ko:가온차트와 함께하세요 |language=ko |work=Gaon Single Chart |publisher=Korea Music Content Industry Association |trans-title=South Korea "Gaon" international sales - 29 October 2011 |quote=To access, select "2011" as chart year and select the chart period "11/06/2011 - 11/12/2011" |access-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121219094524/http://www.gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/online/download/list.gaon |archive-date=December 19, 2012 }}</ref> }}
{{Kelly Clarkson singles}}
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Category:2011 songs Category:Kelly Clarkson songs Category:Songs written by Rodney Jerkins Category:Song recordings produced by Rodney Jerkins Category:Songs written by Andre Lindal Category:Songs written by Lauren Christy Category:American power pop songs