"Since U Been Gone" is a song written and produced by Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, and recorded for American singer Kelly Clarkson's second album, Breakaway (2004). It was released in 2004 as the second single from the album in the U.S. and the first in Europe. Its lyrics recall a failed relationship in which the protagonist later expresses relief about the breakup. Clarkson, who sought interest in a more rock-oriented image, wanted to alter the song's original composition to allow more drums. The song has a punk-pop influence in drums and guitar riffs
The song was successful during 2005 (, and was the second U.S. digital download to sell over one million copies. It reached number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian airplay chart. In the UK, where "Since U Been Gone" was released as the first single from Breakaway, it reached number five and remained on the chart until the second quarter of 2006. At the Grammy Awards of 2006, Clarkson received a Grammy Award for the song in the category of "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". Since U Been Gone charted at ninety-seven in "Blender Magazine's" 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.
Much of the song's melody and chords resemble those of The Strokes' "Barely Legal" on their album Is This It. "Since U Been Gone" writers Max Martin and Dr. Luke admitted on several occasions to being heavily influenced by The Strokes when writing the Clarkson song. It has also been noted that the guitar solo towards the end of the song mirrors that of "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Similar to "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone" took a while to become popular. Released in the U.S. in late November 2004, the song spent three weeks steadily climbing the charts. Many[who?] considered it a sureshot for the number-one position on Top 40 radio. However, Green Day's single "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" surpassed "Since U Been Gone" and jumped to number one. In late March, after over 4 weeks of being on the charts, the popularity of "Since U Been Gone" suddenly began to surge. By April 2005, the song had finally peaked at number one, where it remained for two weeks.
"Since U Been Gone" topped several U.S. Billboard charts, including the Pop 100, Hot Dance Airplay and the Mainstream Top 40. It peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and stayed in the top ten for 20 weeks, in the top forty for 43 weeks and on the chart for forty-six weeks. The RIAA certified "Since U Been Gone" Gold in March 2006 for selling over 500,000 digital downloads. As of January, 2008, "Since U Been Gone" has sold over 1,800,000 downloads. It was also certified gold in June 2006 for over 500,000 ringtones sold. The Jason Nevins "Since U Been Gone" remixes have sold over 180,000 digital downloads, bringing the song to another plateau. Nevins has since remixed other Clarkson records, such as "Because of You" and "Never Again". The song has since logged an impressive 1,710,000 digital downloads in the U.S. as of 2 May, 2008.
On the ARC Weekly Top 40, the single broke the longevity record in the chart's twenty-five year history, spending eight non-consecutive weeks at number one and remaining on the chart for 9 months. It ranked 4th on the 2005 Billboard year-end chart, and Clarkson set a new record on the ARC Weekly Top 40 by having three of the year-end chart's top five singles of the year ("Since U Been Gone", "Because of You" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes").
The song was also popular worldwide, reaching number one in Canada for two weeks and remaining on the chart for twenty-nine weeks. It peaked inside the top five in Australia and the United Kingdom; in the former country it stayed in the top forty for nineteen weeks, and in the latter thirteen (non-consecutive). "Since U Been Gone" performed well in markets where Clarkson's success had previously been limited.