 Clarkson's vocal range spans over an octave, from A3 to F#5.It begins softly, propelled by an acoustic guitar reminiscent of U2's "With or Without You" (1987), and takes "nearly four minutes to reach its climax layering Kelly's desperate vocals over each other", as noted by Talia Kraines of BBC Music.Clarkson deemed "Sober" as her favorite song from "My December", and commented that "musically, [the song is] almost hypnotic.