There's a reason Kelly Clarkson's new single, "Miss Independent," sounds like a Christina Aguilera song. She co-wrote it.

Producer Rhett Lawrence (98°) and Aguilera worked on the song for her Stripped, but they never finished it. So when Lawrence entered a studio with Clarkson, whose voice has garnered comparisons to Christina's, he found just the person to finish it.

After Clarkson's chart-topping success in September with "A Moment Like This" (see [article id="1457777"]" 'American Idol' Kelly Clarkson Crushes Singles Chart Competition"[/article]), fans predicted the first single from her debut would be another ballad. However, after weeks of contemplating, the singer and her handlers (including "Idol" creator Simon Fuller) decided on the funky up-tempo "Miss Independent" just two weeks before Thankful's April 15 release date.

Clarkson will premiere the song on "American Idol" on Wednesday, according to her RCA Records spokesperson.

"Miss Independent" is one of three songs on Clarkson's album that she co-wrote, the others being "You Thought Wrong" and "Thankful," both collaborations with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and the Underdogs (Justin Timberlake). The former also features a guest appearance from fellow "American Idol" finalist Tamyra Gray.

Diane Warren, the prolific songwriter of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" and Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart," among others, also contributed a song, "Some Kind of Miracle."

Other producers on the album include Clif Magness (Avril Lavigne), Stephen Ferrera (Heather Hedley), Sam Watters (Jessica Simpson), Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken (Aguilera, 'NSYNC), and Matthew Wilder (No Doubt), who sang a hit of his own with 1983's "Break My Stride" (see [article id="1453077"]"Pink, Drowning Pool Turn To One-Hit Wonders For Studio Aid"[/article]).

Thankful will also include new mixes of "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love," two of the songs that helped the former cocktail waitress from Burleson, Texas, win "American Idol" last summer (see [article id="1469981"]"Kelly Clarkson Promises Blues, Ballads, Hip-Hop On Debut LP"[/article]).

Clarkson, who will appear at Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards on Saturday, may be following Aguilera's footsteps musically, but she will beat the pop star to the big screen when "From Justin to Kelly" opens June 13. Justin Guarini, the runner-up of the first "American Idol" competition, co-stars in the movie and duets with Clarkson on several songs on the soundtrack (see [article id="1470189"]"Kelly Clarkson Dispels Dating Rumors, Clears Up Movie Plot"[/article]).

Thankful track list, according to RCA: