I had actually begun writing a satirical piece that I was going to call “What It’s Like to Be Kelly Clarkson’s Boyfriend: A Nervous Acid Investigation,” but the more I listened to the lyrics on her new album, Stronger, I actually became fatigued by my own project — and that’s not exactly my fault. For Kelly Clarkson, the narrative of the Stupid Boy and the Awesome Girl Who Disses Him has become more than a recurring lyrical conceit, but an ideology of sorts: She sings about being scorned by boys the way Earth Crisis sing about veganism or Jay-Z about being rich.

At some point, the listener has to wonder: Is it always the Stupid Boy’s fault? Why is it that the only common denominator in all these songs is you, Kelly Clarkson? And if you believe that the Stupid Boy “doesn’t know a thing about you” — as you claim in more than one song — might that be because you’re the one who is emotionally unavailable? I mean, hey, I’ve dated stupid boys too! But the Kelly Clarkson ratio of Stupid Boy-to-Good Guy is insanely skewed. Is it ever her fault?

I finally stopped writing that original post when I arrived at a song called “I Forgive You,” in which Clarkson attempts to take partial credit for a failed relationship. This is progress! I thought. “We were just a couple of kids,” she says. “No shame, no blame.” It’s a cute sentiment, but the reality is that by song’s end, she still doesn’t own it: Clarkson is intent on letting the Stupid Boy know she forgives him, but she doesn’t seem to think it’s worth asking forgiveness for herself or apologizing for the stupid things that she undoubtedly did. It’s as big as missed opportunities come: This song is to forgiveness as the phrase “I’m sorry that you feel that way” is to apologies.