"Because of You" is a song written by pop rock singer Kelly Clarkson, David Hodges and Ben Moody, both formerly of Evanescence, and produced by Hodges and Moody. It is the fourth single (third in Europe) from Clarkson's second album, Breakaway (2004).

 

In 2007, Clarkson re-recorded the song as a duet with country music artist Reba McEntire for Reba's album Reba: Duets (2007). The duet version was released in Summer of 2007, reaching a peak of #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, becoming Clarkson's first official entry on that chart.

 

Like the three previous singles from Breakaway, "Because of You" became a top ten U.S. Billboard Hot 100 hit, peaking at number seven in November 2005. It was another number-one single for Clarkson on the Top 40 Mainstream chart, spending six weeks at the top. The song had longevity on the charts, and it helped Breakaway re-enter the top ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart during the Christmas/winter holiday season and into the new year. The song has logged over 1,070,000 digital downloads in the U.S.

 

"Because of You" reached number four in Australia, where it was number fifty-eight on the ARIA end of 2006 singles chart. The single reached number seven in the United Kingdom and number two on the Nielsen BDS Airplay Hits Chart in Canada. "Because of You" reached number twelve in Brazil on the Hot 100 Brazil end of 2006 singles chart. It hit the top five in Germany and received a gold certification, spending months on the German single charts.