Music Friday: Kelly Clarkson Describes Herself as 'A Diamond From Black Dust'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you popular songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, Kelly Clarkson reveals her vulnerable side and wonders out loud if her boyfriend can embrace her flaws in the 2012 hit, “Dark Side.”

In this soaring synth-pop ballad, songwriters Alexander Geringas and Michael Busbee touch on the diamond’s origin story to illustrate Clarkson’s true potential.

Specifically, they reference how carbon has the ability, over time, to transform into a precious diamond. Clarkson argues that even though she’s not “picture perfect” and has an ominous “dark side,” she is still a gem at her core.

The 2002 American Idol winner sings, “Like a diamond / From black dust / It’s hard to know what can become if you give up / So don’t give up on me.”

Clarkson told New York radio station Z100 that she liked “Dark Side” because “it’s a sweet-sounding song, but with a dark lyric, and I like that.”

In reviewing "Dark Side," Kat George of VH1 said, “This is what we love best about Kelly... acknowledging the pitfalls of her personality, Kelly invites us all to be imperfect without letting us (or herself) be any less perfectly lovable.”

“Dark Side” was released as the third single from Clarkson’s Grammy-award winning album, Stronger. The song topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart and peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Overall, it charted in 13 countries.

A year after the release of “Dark Side,” Clarkson made jewelry-industry news when she was stymied in her bid to claim the 200-year-old turquoise ring once owned by famed British novelist Jane Austen. Clarkson had won the ring in 2012 at a Sotheby’s auction in London.

Clarkson’s winning bid of $235,000 was more than five times the auction house’s high estimate. But instead of allowing Clarkson to take the ring back to the US, British authorities unexpectedly declared the ring a “national treasure” and blocked its export. If a British patron could match Clarkson’s winning bid, the singer would have to forfeit the ring so it could stay in the UK.

Jane Austen’s House Museum launched an aggressive fundraising appeal through its website and Facebook page. Donations from around the world flooded into the “Bring the Ring Home” campaign, generating an infusion of $253,000 — more than enough to match Clarkson’s bid.

Born in Ft. Worth, TX, in 1982, Kelly Brianne Clarkson rose to fame in 2002 after winning the inaugural season of American Idol. Since then, Clarkson has sold more than 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide. She also has the distinction of becoming the first artist in history to top each of Billboard's pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country and dance charts.

Clarkson's daytime talk show on NBC, The Kelly Clarkson Show, has been airing since September of 2019. During the past four years, the show has earned 13 Daytime Emmy Awards. Clarkson was named "Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host" in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Please check out the official video of Clarkson's “Dark Side.” The lyrics are below if you’d like to sing along…

“Dark Side”
Written by Alexander Geringas and Michael Busbee. Performed by Kelly Clarkson.

There’s a place that I know
It’s not pretty there and few have ever gone
If I show it to you now
Will it make you run away

Or will you stay
Even if it hurts
Even if I try to push you out
Will you return?
And remind me who I really am
Please remind me who I really am

Everybody’s got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody’s a picture perfect
But we’re worth it
You know that we’re worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

Like a diamond
From black dust
It’s hard to know what can become if you give up
So don’t give up on me
Please remind me who I really am

Everybody’s got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody’s a picture perfect
But we’re worth it
You know that we’re worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

Don’t run away
Don’t run away
Just tell me that you will stay
Promise me you will stay
Don’t run away
Don’t run away
Just promise me you will stay
Promise me you will stay

Will you love me?
Ohh, everybody’s got a dark side
Do you love me?
Can you love mine?
Nobody’s a picture perfect
But we’re worth it
You know that we’re worth it
Will you love me?
Even with my dark side?

Don’t run away
Don’t run away
Promise you'll stay

Credit: Photo by vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.