Kelly Clarkson releases “sexy-a** song” “favorite kind of high;” Maroon 5 returns with “Middle Ground”

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Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5 have new songs out on Friday.

Maroon 5’s track “Middle Ground” is a different sound for the band: It’s an acoustic waltz with an impassioned vocal by Adam Levine, singing about his own fragility and his hope that we can find a way to end our divisiveness.

“I need peace I need hope I need guidance/ I need more than myself,” he sings. “Tell me/ If I hit the ground/ I’ll fall onto my knees/ Would you hear the sound?”

On May 23, Maroon 5 will perform the song on The Voice finale and also premiere the video, directed by David Dobkin. Dobkin was also behind the camera for Maroon 5’s videos for “Sugar,” “Memories” and “Girls Like You.”

As for Kelly, her song is “favorite kind of high” from her upcoming album, chemistry. It comes with a live video recorded in April during Kelly’s intimate birthday concert at LA’s Belasco Theater.

While introducing the song, Kelly told the audience, “This is a sexy a** song, y’all! I don’t want just some ‘sad, I got divorced and my life sucks’ dumpster fire record.”

“Now, that’s in there,” she laughs. “But I wanted it to be about the whole relationship. ‘Cause one thing I learned in a lot of therapy is, it’s not about just the bad, right? Like, it was a whole thing. It doesn’t mean everything is bad.”

Describing what the song is about, Kelly says, “There’s nothing like that high, like when you first see someone and you’re like, ‘Oh s***,’  y’know? You’re like, ‘I wonder if they’re single?"”

chemistry comes out June 23.

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