"Never a stranger to belting out a song, she sings with evident passion throughout the record, giving its darkened corridors some measure of light without entirely washing away the gloom. There are just enough moments of brightness - the neo-disco "Favorite kind of high," the exuberant self-empowerment of the closing "That's right," and "I hate love," which is funny enough to warrant its cameo from Steve Martin - to make the rest of the album seem curiously stiff. Despite Clarkson's rousing performances and optimistic outlook, Chemistry feels cloistered and secluded, lacking pathways into its inner sanctuaries".