In the summer of 2002, four little words -- "A Moment Like This" -- catapulted Kelly Clarkson from small-town Texas karaoke-singing waitress to the first American Idol superstar. Three years later, her second album Breakaway had five hit singles, including "Since U Been Gone," one of the top pop hits of the year. A pair of Grammy awards, multiple platinum designations, and an endorsement deal with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) followed, and "Miss Independent" was on top of the world, albeit still under some creative control of 19 Entertainment and the Idol family.
In 2007, a matured Clarkson was dealing with a breakup in her personal life and a desire for a darker sound. She wrote or co-wrote every track on her third album effort, My December, which was released in late June to mixed critical reviews and sales that paled in comparison to Breakaway and her debut, Thankful. In the six months following its release, fewer than a million copies had been purchased in the U.S. Perhaps the edgier tone to the record alienated her teeny-bopper fans.
Kelly parted ways with her management company in June, with a source telling tabloid Us Weekly that there was disagreement "over the songs and the direction" of My December. Low ticket sales then prompted the cancellation of her summer arena tour.
But Kelly's still young and vibrant, with a good head on her shoulders and a great voice for pop music. She's embarking upon a tour of smaller venues earlier next year and already at work on her fourth album. I'm confident she'll be back on top again ... there will be another "moment like this" for the American Idol groundbreaker.
Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-21-2007 @ 3:20PM
olivia said...
Well Kelly Clarkson is very young, and i belive that she will belive in her voice and go back to pop NOT rock!
12-21-2007 @ 5:00PM
TJ said...
We saw Kelly's concert at Constitution Hall in DC in October. It was extremely good...her voice was very powerful. The "December" songs come across much better when performed live. She'll learn from this album, and will be back on top next time out. When you get down to it, she can flat-out sing. One of the best female vocalists today. She's just gettin' started!
12-21-2007 @ 5:36PM
Cathy said...
Kelly was awesome here at home at the Nokia. She could sing the phone book and sound great. She has so much talent and her voice just keeps getting better.
12-21-2007 @ 6:01PM
Rich said...
Saw Kelly at the Mohegan Sun in Nov. in Ct. She gets better and better. The girl can sing your socks off. There's no way that she can get it wrong. Everything she sings she has the ability to turn to gold
12-21-2007 @ 6:30PM
Jenni said...
With all the musical "crap" out there today, I rarely buy a CD anymore. However, I heard Kelly Sing Sober one time and I loved it so much I bought her latest CD. I was not dissappointed. I love this new stuff. I love every song on the CD especially, Hole and Maybe! This CD converted me from non-fan to fan! Way to go! Down with the cookie cutter Idol crap! I saw her live in Oct.! She was stellar!
12-22-2007 @ 7:49AM
Geo said...
Lord- angry white woman...girl - give it up..move on..her last cd was angry and now December was "slash my wrist and get it over with" . Sound was too rough for her voice..she ain't no pat benetar..she sounded like she was screaming in physical pain..i returned my cd..
her last album was a hit b/c for one reason - REMIXES!!!!!!! December didn't have any
12-21-2007 @ 3:35PM
Shelley said...
Then obviously you were never a "true" Kelly fan b/c if you were, you would have listened to it a little more subjectively. Yeah, she prolly was angry/hurt whatever when she wrote the songs and at first I was like "what?"" I am not going to like it if all her CD's are like this but she said she would change it up every time and the girl can sing ANYTHING so if you are a true fan, you enjoy her voice regardless of what type of music she is singing.
12-22-2007 @ 7:58AM
Geo said...
No doubt the girl can sing but as a singer regardless of age, you need to know your range..after all madonna is NOT going to sing X-MAS carols..b/c she can't carry a tune..the same applies to kelly..as an artist - know your limits..she should have listened to Clive Davis who told her it sounds like crap and obviously so did her fans. the CD TANKED!!!!!
12-22-2007 @ 1:27PM
Mike said...
Kelly doesn't really have a limit to what she can sing - her voice is incredibly versatile. I LOVE her ballads and I LOVE her edgier songs - but like Kelly said, she doesn't want to come out with the same record twice and this album is not nearly as hardcore as people make it out to be. Bottom line, it's still pop. She laughs when people call it "rock". It's simply not. "Hole" is the closest she comes to Rock, and the song is vocally amazing.
Clive just wants to make money, that's why he didn't want her to put this album out because it's not as commercial - and Kelly doesn't care about being on top. She wants to sing what she wants - who can blame her??
The CD is still platinum, and that's not a tank by any means. No, she didn't sell as much as Breakaway or Thankful - but you have to remember that her record label SUPPORTED those albums - they don't support this one, won't release any new singles in the U.S., no more videos, how the hell do you expect it to sell? She's gone platinum with hardly any label support that's not an easy task - clearly the album speaks for itself.
12-22-2007 @ 4:54PM
ian said...
The only CD I've fully appreciated is her latest album and a few songs from Breakaway. I think that if you want to make quality music, you would have to face the truth that not everyone will like it because not everyone has that great taste in music. I admire Kelly for doing this. She did this for music and not for money.
12-24-2007 @ 10:19PM
Vanessa said...
Actually, 'My December' has gone platinum in the US, as well as in other countries. I went to her concert on November 29, and she was phenomenal. I have loved Kelly for as long as I've known her, and that's since her Idol days. She continually changes her sound, so she never gets boring. I love all three albums for different reasons, but they all show her amazing vocal talent. Not many artists have talent these days, she is one of few that do.