It's not that complicated, she's just missundaztood.If you don't mind, I would like to take this time to address the somewhat endless drama that seems to be surrounding Kelly Clarkson at the moment. From the get go we have all heard the stories about her and this
My December album set to drop in two weeks. Her and Clive Davis have butted heads over the tunes on the disc; those on high wanted her to actually re-record tracks off of Lindsay Lohan's last album; selling records is all fine and dandy, but really she doesn't give a damn about all that. In other words, but she really wants to do is write, sing, and emote.
Cut to this week. Manager fired. Summer tour, at the moment, canceled.
What in the world is going on?
It all seems so unfortunate to me. No, I did not watch the first season of
American Idol religiously, but I am young and American, meaning I copped her debut disc, and later, went on to fall in love with the now ubiqutous pop classic Since You've Been Gone. And as of late I have kept the four other singles from that album [Breakaway, Behind These Hazel Eyes, Because of You and Walk Away] in constant rotation round these parts, which is funny, considering how at the time of their respective releases I saw them as nothing more than cloying Top 40 hits.
But then I stopped being a music snob and started being real.
Kelly Clarkson is the real deal. There's a reason those songs work and went on to sell millions of copies. Few of Kelly's contemparies can utter lines like "I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly" and give off the impression that they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. For example, I enjoy a fair amount of Avril Lavigne's latest
The Best Damn Thing, but every so often, when the Joan Jett and the Blackhearts/Pat Benatar leanings give way to trite balladry, even I have a hard time not pressing the skip button, and wondering how at a much younger age her selling some of these same ruminations on love and longing felt much more genuine.
If anything, this whole
My December fiasco makes me think of another one of my favorites, Pink. [Or is it P!nk?] When Pink burst onto the scene back in 2000 with her debut album
Can't Take Me Home [remember that one?] she, like Kelly Clarkson had a "gimmick" or something pushing her out into the limelight. Here was a young pink haired Caucasian female with a big voice and R&B edge, backed by producers who enveloped her voice and persona in the popular R&B trappings of the time. It's a situation not too far removed from Kelly's debut: big voiced southern girl wins insanely popular talent show, recieves a team of backers who aid in hammering out her obligatory American Idolized debut album and single.
But with her second album Pink chose to do things her way. Downplaying the heavily manafactured urban motifs of her first album, Pink took a step back, applied more of her own words to the pad, and crafted an incredibly ambitious sophomore record, [where the first disc was aggressive and distant, Missudaztood was open and laid everything bare] caring less about numbers, and more about being true to herself and her fans. And I think her career and current catalogue is better because of that.
And this is what I see and hear with Ms. Clarkson. No, I have not downloaded the album or heard it all in its entirety, but what I have heard are three of four tracks of a young woman attempting to come into her own as an artist, and succeeding. As is the case with the wonderfully rollicking lead single Never Again, Kelly, like Pink before her, stands behind her words and sings them with such grit, such emotion, such clarity, that you can't help but listen. To not give
My December a shot because of negative press, or because it's not
Breakaway 2: Still crying Behind These Hazel Eyes would be a huge mistake, cause Kelly, as we all found out a few years back on
American Idol, is a force to be reckoned with.
THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: 'Idol' sweetheart Kelly Clarkson is ready to rock it
