Kelly Clarkson Is Pop And Then Some
Because music is generally more accessible than literature, critics tend to be less forgiving and more finicky with artists who put out an album. They are ready to pounce at every opportune moment, poised to pick on every nitty gritty detail such as contrived lyrics or cheesy chord progressions.
But Kelly Clarkson is the kind that breaks all rules. She perfectly fits the image of a bubblegum pop star while coming off as totally out-of-the-box. She can belt out a ballad in the tradition of Celine Dion but at the same time beat the dickens out of rousing anthems like “Home” and “Hear Me”. In interviews, she’s usually her bubbly self, putting on the aw-shucks face that earned her the distinction of being America’s Sweetheart, but there would be moments when she would transition to someone else, as if in a trance, and say something really insightful about music. For instance, when describing Melissa Etheridge’s voice, she said that it’s the kind of voice that “has really lived.”
Whoever said that Kelly Clarkson is a case study couldn’t have been more precise. Here is someone who stayed strong in the business despite the fickle nature of pop music. How did she manage to weave longevity and a valid career out of her Idol background?
Before she was thrust into the spotlight, Clarkson had experienced just about every woes of a working class family. Her parents divorced when she was six, her family constantly bickered about money issues, and she had to work odd jobs to make ends meet. She tried her in luck in LA in hopes of striking a record deal, only to go home empty-handed after her apartment burned down and her car towed twice all in the course of four days.
Perhaps what makes Kelly Clarkson stick in the business for so long is her street credibility. In an industry where personal tribulations are stretched a bit too far, Clarkson stands out as one of those artists who had real encounters with adversities that ordinary citizens face.
When the likes of Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears croon about their tough luck, you can’t help but be skeptical of the fact that their struggles are nothing more than self-inflicted wounds. But when you listen to Clarkson sing the line, “My life can’t possibly break when it wasn’t even whole to start with,” you know she’s singing about something true and that you’re listening to a human being who had come face to face with the devil. You know that even though her troubles are not as heavy as say, the troubles of someone dying in Africa, you know that her pain is real and that she is doing her best to outlive it.
A hater once said that her music is obnoxious and dark. Maybe that person is right. After all, Clarkson’s strength lies not only in her steely vocals but also in her ability to use this instrument to bring a song into its cathartic conclusion.
Buy Kelly Clarkson’s latest album, “All I Ever Wanted
