In a story about “Mr. Know It All” — the first single off Kelly Clarkson’s new album Stronger — Entertainment Weekly calls the multi-platinum singer and songwriter “the samurai of shooting guys down.” Indeed Clarkson has earned herself millions of devoted fans thanks to her feisty, straight-talking lyrics. Clarkson’s hits such as “Miss Independent,” “Since U Been Gone,” “Walk Away,” “Never Again,” and now “Mr. Know It All,” are bold empowerment anthems, which she sells to the fullest with her soulful, powerhouse voice and down-to-earth relatability.

The vibrant, musically diverse Stronger (which Clarkson says was influenced by Tina Turner, Prince, Sheryl Crow, and Radiohead) will thrill those who love Clarkson for her resilience. The album is filled with candid, emotionally raw tunes like “The War Is Over,” “Darkside,” and “Honestly,” as well as “You Love Me” (in which Clarkson witheringly tells an ex “you’re not good enough”), “Einstein” (the cad in question is dismissed with “Here’s your keys, your bags, your clothes, and now get out of my place”), and the title track, which finds Clarkson putting a fresh spin on Nietzsche’s adage that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and declaring “it doesn’t mean I’m over ’cause you’re gone.” That fact that these gutsy sentiments are wrapped in fizzy pop melodies, bright choruses, and driving dancefloor-friendly beats (crafted by such A-list producers as Rodney Jerkins, Greg Kurstin, Josh Abraham, and Toby Gad) only makes them that much more appealing.

As is well known by now, Clarkson first appeared on the public’s radar in 2002 during the first season of American Idol. “When I auditioned, my apartment in Los Angeles had recently burned down and I had a box of photographs to my name,” Clarkson says. “I figured I’d get to sing and make some money to pay the bills. Nobody thought that show was going to be what it is now.” Of course Clarkson won and went on to become an international pop icon, selling over 20 million albums worldwide (including 10 million in the U.S.) and notching seven singles on the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has released four studio albums, 2003’s double-platinum No. 1 Thankful, 2004’s 6x-platinum Breakaway (which sold over 12 million copies worldwide, spawned five Top 10 hits, and stayed on the charts for two years), 2007’s platinum-selling My December, and 2009’s All I Ever Wanted, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and produced the smash singles “My Life Would Suck Without You” and “Already Gone.” Clarkson has also received two Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, two MTV Music Awards, and 11 Billboard Music Awards.