Wanting to stray away sonically from her previous albums, Clarkson's main objective was to record her vocal performances as it is heard in her live sets, and used as little auto-tune processing as possible.

The album's lyrical content mainly explores themes about heartbreak, vengeance, forgiveness and empowerment through metaphors about Clarkson's relationships around people.

Upon its release, Stronger received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised Clarkson's vocal performance, but noted its lack of progression, unlike her previous albums.

"Mr. Know It All" topped the charts in Australia and South Korea and attained top-ten positions in four countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

During an interview with MTV News in November 2009, Clarkson stated that while performing on the All I Ever Wanted Tour, she would also be in the process of writing new material for her fifth studio album, which she hoped for a late 2010 release.

On October 6, 2010, Clarkson hosted an impromptu session on the social networking site Twitter to update fans regarding the status of the album.

[13] Clarkson also announced that she worked with several other musicians such as Toby Gad, Greg Kurstin, Josh Abraham, Steve Jordan and Darkchild.

[23][24] In August 2010, Clarkson recorded a song with country singer Jason Aldean entitled "Don't You Wanna Stay" for his fourth studio album, My Kinda Party.

One of the duets, titled "One More Yesterday", which Clarkson confirmed was featuring fellow Idol-alumnus Chris Daughtry, did not manage to make the final track list.

The song was written by Daughtry, Richard Marx and Jason Wade, but Clarkson decided not to include it feeling that it might not be suitable for the album's direction.

[27] The Smoakstack Sessions, Clarkson debuted extended play, was released as a companion EP to the record, and was made available exclusively through her official online music store.

"[33] The opening track and lead single, "Mr. Know It All," features a steady four-four stomp, synthetic strings and drum-machine loops,[34] with Clarkson's vocals being deemed as "raw".

"[9] Producer Darkchild told The Hollywood Reporter that it was a "smart decision",[20] while Claude Kelly remarked that the move could work in her favor, citing "I will say that I'd be willing to bet that the reason it was pushed back was not for anything as horrible or earth-shattering as people think — it's probably (sic) a better setup".

On October 15, the Japanese iTunes Store accidentally released the whole album for purchase which was immediately replaced by snippet previews later that day.

[56] Clarkson previewed the song "Why Don't You Try" during Muhammad Ali's "Celebrity Fight Night" charity event in Phoenix, Arizona on March 19, 2011.

[57] She then performed it on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on September 20, 2011,[58] at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 23, 2011,[59] on the Australian television series The X Factor,[60] and at the 2011 NRL Grand Final at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney on October 2, 2011 accompanied by three hundred dancers, which marked her first appearance at the event in 8 years since the 2003 NRL Grand Final.

[61][62][63] On October 5, 2011, Clarkson previewed the final version of "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and "You Love Me" on her website to positive reviews from music critics.

[80] The album's lead single, "Mr. Know It All," premiered on August 30, 2011 during a special live webcast on Clarkson's website, after which the song was immediately sent into radio airplay.

"Stronger" proved to be successful internationally, charting in the UK, Poland, New Zealand, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, Russia, and Australia.

[92][93][94] On November 15, 2011, RCA announced the North American tour dates, which began on January 13, 2012 at the MGM Grand Theatre in Mashantucket, Connecticut and ended on April 14, 2012 at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.

[105] Mikael Wood of Spin wrote that, although "Stronger isn't Clarkson's long-promised Nashville album", she "delivers tunes like 'Einstein' and the disco-glam title track with a country singer's earthy conviction.

"[38] Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly dubbed it Clarkson's "older-better-tougher-smarter album" and complimented the songs' "finger-wagging, rafter-reaching power".

[37] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post wrote that "Clarkson has two moods — scrappy and morose — and Stronger works every possible combination of both", and called it "a good album by a great vocalist who, it’s easy to still hope, is capable of a lot more.

[42] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times asserted that "Ms. Clarkson is turning into the Mary J. Blige of pop: so good at being wounded that no one wants to let her heal.

"[40] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe felt that, with the exception of "Mr. Know It All"'s "obvious electronic manipulation", Clarkson's performances are "more consistently lived-in and evocative than on any of her previous efforts.

"[34] In a mixed review, Rolling Stone editor Jody Rosen wrote that "Clarkson remains a slightly wearying one-note artist—she's a wounded lover, bellowing her pain and scorching the earth.

"[41] Andy Gill of The Independent found no "development" in Clarkson's singing and panned its music as "an overlong string of standard putdown R&B and bogus emotional turmoil, the songs blitzed with generic power-ballad overkill.

Other songs debuted on the same chart as follows: "You Love Me" (#46), "Hello" (#47), "Dark Side" (#48), "Breaking Your Own Heart" (#49), "Standing in Front of You" (#50), "Honestly" (#51), "Einstein" (#53), "Let Me Down" (#61), "You Can't Win" (#63) and "The War Is Over" (#65).

[86] Notes In 2009, Eric Hutchinson opened for Kelly Clarkson in selected dates in her All I Ever Wanted Tour, where he debuted a new song, "Why Don't You Try", originally intended for his fourth studio album.

"[119] Clarkson performed "Why Don't You Try" during Muhammad Ali's "Celebrity Fight Night" charity event in Phoenix, Arizona on March 19, 2011.