"Since U Been Gone" is a song by American singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson from her second album, Breakaway (2004). The song was written and produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke and it was released on December 22, 2004, by RCA Records as the second single from the album. It is an uptempo pop song which infuses electronic sound with a dichotomy of soft and loud alternative-rock sound. Martin originally wrote "Since U Been Gone" with Pink in mind but the singer turned it down. It was then given to Hilary Duff but the singer rejected the song because she could not reach the song's higher notes. The song was finally given to Clarkson after Clive Davis convinced the writers to give it to her. Clarkson decided to add heavier guitars and harder drums to the song after noticing that the demo sounded a little bit pop. "Since U Been Gone" is the last track that Clarkson recorded for Breakaway. Lyrically, the song is written from a woman's point of view where she expresses her sense of relief with the end of her troubled relationship.

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and occasional actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and later was the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.

In 2003, Clarkson released her debut album, Thankful, which was a commercial success and established herself in the pop music industry. The release of its first single, "A Moment Like This" (2002), broke The Beatles' record for the biggest leap to number one, from 52, in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. After parting ways with her management, Clarkson developed a more rock-oriented music with the release of her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Breakaway (2004), which sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and which garnered Clarkson more worldwide success as a pop rock artist. The album's single, "Because of You" (2005), became the best-selling single by an Idol contestant worldwide. In 2007, Clarkson took full creative control for her third album My December, which had a more rock-inspired sound and was met with controversy and moderate success. Clarkson later returned to a more pop-oriented sound with All I Ever Wanted (2009), which became a commercial and critical success. The album's lead single, "My Life Would Suck Without You" (2009), surpassed "A Moment Like This"'s record for the biggest leap to number one on a single week in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, a milestone it still holds today. Furthermore, it also became her first number one single in the United Kingdom. Clarkson's fifth studio album, Stronger, was released in 2011, containing elements from synthpop, R&B and country music. The album's single, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" (2012), became her longest number one single and eventually became her best-selling single in the United States.

Ted Leo (born Theodore F. Leo on September 11, 1970, in South Bend, Indiana), is an American punk rock/indie rock songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has played in the bands Citizens Arrest, Chisel, the Sin-Eaters, the Spinanes, and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. He has also kept up a consistent presence as a solo performer since the late 1990s.

Though born in Indiana, Leo grew up in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where his family is from, and spent many formative years in the hardcore punk scene of New York City during the 1980s and early 1990s. He graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange in 1988 and the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 1993 with a degree in English. His brothers Chris Leo and Danny Leo are also singer-songwriters, and members of Native Nod, The Lapse, The Van Pelt, Vague Angels and Holy Childhood. He is a vegan.

Ted is a fan of and frequent contributor to WFMU, most notably to Tom Scharpling's "The Best Show on WFMU."

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno /ˈlɛnoʊ/ (born April 28, 1950) is an American stand-up comedian and television host.

From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time, UTC-5), also on NBC. After The Jay Leno Show was canceled in January 2010 amid a host controversy, Leno returned to host The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 1, 2010.

James "Jay" Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York, in 1950. His mother, Catherine (née Muir; 1911–1993), a homemaker, was born in Greenock, Scotland, and came to the United States at age 11. Leno's father, Angelo (1910–1994), who worked as an insurance salesman, was born in New York to immigrants from Flumeri, Italy. Leno grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and although his high school guidance counselor recommended that he drop out of school, he later obtained a Bachelor's degree in speech therapy from Emerson College, where he started a comedy club in 1973. Leno's siblings include his late older brother, Patrick, who was a Vietnam veteran and a lawyer.

The X Factor is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a management contract and a Sony Music Australia recording contract. The 2011 season premiered on the Seven Network on 29 August 2011 and ended on 22 November 2011. The winner was Reece Mastin and his debut single "Good Night" was released after the final. Mastin was mentored throughout by Guy Sebastian, who won as mentor for the first time. The season was presented by Luke Jacobz. Sebastian and Ronan Keating were the only judges from the previous season who returned, while Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Mel B joined the judging panel as replacements for former judges, Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands.

The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp, home visits and live shows. Auditions in front of the show's producers took place throughout March and April 2011. The successful auditionees chosen by the producers were then invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience during May and June. After the auditions was bootcamp, where successful acts were split into four categories: Under-25 Boys (male soloists aged 14 to 24), Under-25 Girls (female soloists aged 14 to 24), Over-25s (soloists aged 25 and over) and Groups. Each judge was given a category to mentor and had to decide on their twelve acts after day two, and their six acts after day three. Special guest judges, including Wynter Gordon, Stephen Belafonte, Darren Hayes and The Veronicas, were brought in to help the judges decide their acts. Following bootcamp was the home visits stage, where each of the judges reduced their six acts to three, with help from more guest judges, including Beyoncé, Melanie C, Jason Derülo, Good Charlotte and Leona Lewis. The live shows began on 19 September 2011.