Kelly Clarkson’s snarling lyrics
Kelly Clarkson gave up being the youngest American Idol winner when Jordin Sparks clinched the title last May. But she will still be forever known as the first American Idol. However, it has become quite noticeable lately that most of the media space she gets goes to her efforts to get herself out of the Idol box. Clarkson should realize by now that she can never shake off the title. Besides, she should accept the fact that the show made her a star. So why the hoity-toity “I’m better than that” behavior? Had she been Pinoy and behaving like that, she would have been instantly labeled ingrata.
Titles, whether it is American Idol or Miss
If I remember right, this is her third solo album. She earlier had Thankful which was all American Idol sweetness and Breakaway, which got her the Grammys and the hits Because of You, Behind These Hazel Eyes and Since U Been Gone. It was also the album that first indicated Kelly was itching to get out of the commercial Idol mold. She completed the process with the drastically changed style of My December.
The work must have been grueling. Clarkson wanted to create music that did not want to sound like anything else. At the back of her head though are voices saying it will not sell. Stubbornly she went ahead and even co-wrote all the 13 songs, which are mostly difficult to sing and unpredictable in structure with snarling lyrics about guiltfests and betrayals. Thankfully though, I like it that she did not get herself all started up like Christina Aguilera during the Dirrty days. Am also glad she did not invite a platoon of rappers to get featuring billing in R ’n B tracks like Beyoncé Knowles.
Despite all that My December turned out to be a brilliant showcase for Kelly’s powerful voice and emerging rock chops. She has the best vocals of all the Idol winners and she found a way of showing them off with her angry, difficult songs. The rocking Never Again sets the pace followed by other great rockers like Hole, Don’t Waste Your Time, Judas, How I Feel and Can I Have a Kiss. Interspersed with these are slower, darker stuff that sometimes echoes Evanescence like One Minute, Sober or turns folksy like that moving closer
My December is a notable effort. Clarkson proved her point. Now all she has to do is remain thankful for that voice. It makes any song sound good. There is really no need for her to ditch American Idol or to hate sounding poppy and nice.
Top 10 albums
Maybe because Kelly had been naughty and walang utang na loob, the expected Christmas sales bonanza of My December didn’t materialize. Somebody younger who must have a hotline to Santa. Her name is Miley Cyrus and she got the wonderful present of a No. 1 selling album. So instead of My December reaching No. 1 in the Billboard Top 200 Albums list, it only came in at two.
On top of the heap is Hannah Montana 2 Meet Miley Cyrus, which also came out last week. Miley comes from of the hit series Hannah Montana and is one of Disney’s hottest stars. She sings, she acts and is very pretty. She is the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus of Achy Breaky Heart fame and looks like another Hilary Duff in the making.
The Top 10 albums are Hannah Montana 2 by Miley; My December by Kelly; Lost Highway by Bon Jovi; Icky Thump by The White Stripes; 5th Gear by Brad Paisley; Back to Black by Amy Winehouse; Easy Tiger by Ryan Adams; Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park; Memory Almost Full by Paul McCartney; and It Won’t Be Soon Before Long by Maroon 5.
The Top 10 singles in the Hot 100 are Umbrella by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z; Party Like a Rockstar by Shop Boyz; Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s; Big Girls Don’t Cry by Fergie; Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’) by T-Pain featuring Yung Joc; The Way I Are by Timbaland featuring Kery Hilson; Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5; Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne; Summer Love by Justin Timberlake; and Rehab by Amy Winehouse.
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