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CBC News (CA) July 24, 2009

American Idyll:Why Life Would Suck Without Pop Star Kelly ClarksonBy Sarah Liss, CBC News

American Idol is a touchy subject among seasoned music fans. Mention the realitysinging competition in a rock club or at a party full of indie music geeks, and theresponses range from sheepish confessions (“It’s my guilty trash TV indulgence!”) toangry tirades about how the show has contributed to the death of artistry within themusic industry. The consensus in that crowd is that Idol , and the stars it produces, isa manufactured commercial phenomenon, the success of which has more to do withlowest common denominator appeal than raw talent.

Arguably, only one graduate of Idol University has managed to rise above thenegative connotations of her launching pad to earn the respect of even those musicalcynics. That would be Kelly Clarkson, winner of the show’s inaugural season.

Seven years after her victory, Clarkson’s career is stillflourishing, an accomplishment that has evadedmany of her Idol peers. Her most recent album, All IEver Wanted , debuted at the top of the charts this

March. That record’s first single, a delectably fizzypop nugget with the prosaic title My Life Would Suck Without You , made history when it travelled from #97to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week it wasreleased, setting a new record for the biggest jump tofirst place.

Singer Kelly Clarkson has released her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted.

(Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

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Though Clarkson admits she’s “thankful” when her songs top the charts, she insistsher goals as an artist don’t include platinum-selling records.

“I love that people love [the hit singles], I love that they’re anthems,” she says in arecent interview, “but my whole point going into a studio isn’t like, ‘I’m only gonnarecord songs that I think are gonna be number one.’ My whole thing is to never be

scared.” That may be true. But as a pop singer, it’s considerably easier to gaze into the abysswhen you’ve chosen a crack team of hit-producing songwriters to help hold you up.With the exception of some unfortunate R&B collaborations (likely at the behest of RCA chief Clive Davis, Godfather of all Idol s) on her treacly debut, Thankful (2003),Clarkson has been savvy when it comes to recruiting producers and co-writers.Swedish pop geniuses Max Martin and Dr. Luke (Pink, Katy Perry, Britney Spears)have worked on some of Clarkson’s biggest singles; modish hit-maker Ryan Tedder(of OneRepublic) produced several tracks on All I Ever Wanted .

Clarkson is quick to assert that if her name’s in the credits of a song, she’sresponsible for both the melody and the lyrics. If you’re keeping score, Clarksondidn’t pen her biggest Max Martin/Dr. Luke singles, including My Life Would Suck Without You and 2004’s Since U Been Gone , but she did co-write Behind These HazelEyes and Walk Away (both Top 20 hits) from 2004’s Breakaway , as well as everytrack on 2007’s My December and half of All I Ever Wanted , including her latestsingle, Already Gone .

To those who’d dismiss Clarkson out of hand because she has help writing her songs,I’d argue that she’s demonstrated great skill in finding material that fits her voice likea worn-in pair of jeans and rings true to her personality. In the tradition of CyndiLauper (another huge pop star who didn’t write her biggest hits), Clarkson is amasterful vocal interpreter who truly understands that the finest pop songs arevehicles for communicating great stories and emotional truths.

And like Lauper, she’s got an impressive set of pipes that are no less powerful for hervocal idiosyncrasies. Where other Idol ladies model their approach on the melismaticbellows of contemporary R&B divas, Clarkson’s power ballads are pleasantly raggedaround the edges; her woman-scorned yowls are a few degrees removed from AxlRose. She’s a dive-bar girl whose inspirations include ’90s alt-rockers the Toadies andSouthern beardos Kings Of Leon. Laconic geeks Weezer, she says, made her want towrite music.

“Honestly, I’ve been a Weezer fan since junior high,” she confesses. “Weezer andAlanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill were that moment I realized, ‘Oh my god, it’s not

just that you have to sing pretty!’ That’s when I realized you have this platform andthis stage to get your message out. Weezer attack some serious situations, but theydo it with sarcasm, or in a very sweet way, like with Hold Me , which is almost like aspiritual song. They made me feel normal for thinking irrational thoughts.”

The day I meet her in a Toronto hotel room, she’s pleasantly rumpled and given toblurting out whatever she’s thinking in the moment. Clarkson is well aware of herstatus as a square peg in the American Idol camp. Ask whether she thinks she’d walkaway with the crown if she tried out now, eight seasons (and a substantial amount of squeaky-clean polish) into the show’s evolution, and she snorts.

“I didn’t think I’d win at that point! My whole point on my season was just to getnoticed. I thought maybe a manager would be watching and like my voice or what I

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was doing. I wasn’t aiming to win. I mean, especially with the other beautiful girls onthat season – not to say I’m not,” she chastens herself. Having weathered aninordinate amount of criticism for not conforming to a sleek pop-star ideal, Clarksonstrives to convey positive messages about her own body image. "But especially withall that stuff, I didn't think I could win on that show. Ha!"

Clarkson’s not the sole American Idol to connectwith fans outside the program’s target fan base.Certainly, folks like Daughtry and CarrieUnderwood have made major inroads in genres(modern alternative rock and country,respectively) not traditionally associated with thefranchise. But Clarkson, who holds the record forhighest album sales by an Idol winner, is the onlyone of her peers who can boast that she’s had asong covered by indie punk Ted Leo , post-hardcore band A Day To Remember , soulfulspitfire Beth Ditto, and electro-pop singer Robyn (among others), reconfigured by Timbaland andused as an ironic ringtone by the characters onGossip Girl . That such a diverse sampling of artistscould connect with Clarkson’s brazen break-upanthem Since U Been Gone is a testament to theenduring power of both the song and the singerwho made it famous.

Endearingly, Clarkson still demonstrates an almostpathological inability to take herself seriously. Sheonce told an interviewer that her ultimate dream isto open up her own Chili’s franchise. At a Torontoshow in 2007, she playfully invited the audience to

judge a pumpkin carving contest between herself and her bandmates, then unveileda jack-o-lantern she claimed was inspired by the scene from The 40-Year-Old Virgin inwhich Steve Carell invokes Clarkson’s name as a cuss-word while getting his chest

waxed.

And despite so many votes to the contrary, itseems like Clarkson is still the last person willing

to recognize Kelly Clarkson’s rock cred. Ask about fantasy collaborations, and thesinger sighs.

“I think it’d be awesome to work with the White Stripes. Even though I don’t know if they would, because that’d be…” Clarkson trails off, laughing. “Even if I’m a fan of theirs, their credibility factor would waver a bit. But I like him. I think [Jack White] is

just genius in his own crazy insane way of writing music.”

All I Ever Wanted is in stores now.

Single ladies: Why Kelly Clarkson’s new song sounds a lot like Beyonce’sHalo

If you’ve been listening to the radio lately, it’s possible you’ve heard the soaringstrains of Already Gone , the newest single off All I Ever Wanted . It’s very likely thatyou thought you’d heard the epic song before, albeit in a slightly different form. KellyClarkson collaborated with Ryan Tedder on the track, a dramatic ballad driven by a

Kelly Clarkson performs as part of acelebration of Reba McEntire's career in 2008. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

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pounding heartbeat, twinkly piano and swooping strings. Unbeknownst to Clarkson, Tedder used suspiciously similar elements when he produced another recent mega-hit, Beyonce’s Halo .

“Ryan and I met each other at the record label, before he was working with anyoneelse,” Clarkson begins, gritting her teeth. “He’s from Oklahoma, I’m from Texas; we

got along really well and had some of the same influences. We wrote about six songstogether, four or five of them made the album. It was all fine and dandy. I’d neverheard of a song called Halo . Her album came out when my album was already beingprinted. No-one’s gonna be sittin’ at home, thinking ‘Man, Ryan Tedder gave Beyonceand Kelly the same track to write to.’ No, they’re just gonna be saying I rippedsomeone off. I called Ryan and said, ‘I don’t understand. Why would you do that?’”

The palpably frustrated Clarkson claims she “fought and fought” to try and preventher label from releasing Already Gone as her third single, out of respect for Beyonce.

“In the end, they’re releasing it without my consent,” she sighs. “It sucks, but it’s oneof those things I have no control over. I already made my album. At this point, therecord company can do whatever they want with it. It’s kind of a shitty situation, but.… You know, you learn.”

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