Kelly Clarkson: “They told me I should shut up and sing”
- INTERVIEW with Kelly Clarkson, first winner of American Idol.
- The Texan singer, 25, released on June 26th 2007 My December, her third album.
- Kelly Clarkson has sparked controversy with this album after her label tried hard to make her change it.
Los Angeles. She enters the room speaking about her acne. “Not cool”, Kelly Clarkson (Photo Chapman Bahler) says laughing. One would certainly not expect a young superstar to speak about her moles. But the Texan singer does not seem to care about the polished image most of her peers try to have. She is the way she is, and fame should not change anything. Kelly Clarkson has had a rough year trying to shape My December, her third album due in the stores today, the way she wanted it. Her label tried hard to make her change her direction, but she did not. Despite more than 11 million records sold with Breakway, her previous record, and two Grammy awards, Kelly Clarkson knows she is rolling the career dice. The pressure is mounting. In recent weeks, she fired her manager and cancelled her summer tour.
Your disagreements with your record company have been widely reported.
That is the funny thing. It was never different from my other albums. My label did not like Thankful. It did not like Breakaway. It happened with every single record so it is no different with this one. There is always a problem. Whether it’s me, Justin Timberlake or anyone. The first thing coming out of their mouth is “Oh, we don’t hear singles”. Of course you don’t.
Is it true that the record company delayed the release of the album for months to try to make you change your mind?
Is it true that Clive Davis (n.d.l.r.: the RCA chairman) and I have had disagreements over my 3 albums? Yes. It will be true for the next seven albums I make. It was no different from any other albums. The album was ready since January but we were trying to figure out when to release it with the other artists on their roster.
You departed from the mainstream pop with My December.
People say that. But other than Never again, Hole and Judas, the rest of the record is not heavy guitars. There is a little bit of everything on the record. I am always going to have some songs that are little rock, some songs that are ballads, some really sweet intimate songs. It’s not Metallica, it’s not Courtney Love. It’s not that kind of album. It has been going pretty well for me. I always go with my guts. I never want to make the same record. Who would want to buy Breakaway II? We already have Breakaway. Sequels are never as good.
What is going to happen if you are proved wrong this time?
I haven’t been proved wrong. I have won. I have the album coming out. It is exactly how I want it. I think people measure success on how many albums you sell. I don’t. I have never felt pressure. I did not feel pressure when Breakaway came out and when my label thought I would only sell 600,000 copies of it. I did not feel pressure when I worked my ass off across the world because nobody was with me. I am determined. My whole point with this album is I want to make sure that people know I am always going to come out with something I love, and with something my fans can relate to.
Mike Watt is on three songs of this album. Are the Stooges one of your musical influences?
No at all. I actually found out about Mike Watt while doing the album. The two producers of the album are big fans of his. He came into the studio and he was the coolest and the most humble guy. I just did this thing with Jeff Beck as well. And you always find that the legends have no air about them. There are usually fairly shy and very modest. They don’t have to boast about themselves. Mike was really cool and he brought something different any bass player my age would have brought.
What about your song Judas?
Judas in the Bible is about the ultimate betrayal. When you are in your 20s, you find who your real friends are. You are growing up and people mature in different ways. It’s all about that feeling of humiliation and stupidity.
So you have been betrayed?
I have unfortunately but I think it is not very rare in my kind of work.
Coming out of “American Idol”, there is the perception that your career was formatted to fit TV standards. Are you rebelling against that with your new album?
No I have never rebelled. Why would I rebel against 60 million people watching the show?
Not against the people, against the system.
But it’s not a system, it’s the people. It’s what “American Idol” is about. It’s not like a record label pre-packaging people and sending them out. I meet a lot of artists, who are supposed to be kind of the bad ass. There is a reason, why this show is so huge. I don’t think record labels give the public credit. They think people are mindless idiot robots. I wouldn’t say all the people with the record labels are like that because there are people in my label I get along fairly well.
You often refer to God. How important is God in your life?
Very important. I have been a spiritual person since I was 13 years old. Especially after writing Irvine, that was definitely a low point in my life. After that experience, I knew there is somebody out there looking after me. Whether it is God, Allah or whatever is out there, I definitely think there is somebody that is rooting for us.
Kelly Clarkson and Jean-Cosme Delaloye (photo Karine Vouillamoz)
You said you didn’t want to be the Joan of Ark of the music industry. What do you mean by that?
People put me against the label and say we are arguing. Well we are. People make me like “I-am-going-to-beat-the-label girl”. I am not that girl. I work really well with the label. I am the most compromising. I will bend over backwards to help someone out. I am going to write music that I love and if people don’t like it, tough.
And what do you feel when you get into a coffee shop or a club in Hollywood and you see these young Americans like you, performing, chasing the same dream you were. Because you first gave up and…
No, that was just in the press. My apartment burnt down. I don’t think that’s giving up. That’s just bad luck. I lived out here, I had four jobs. It feels great when I go into the movie theaters, Jamba Juice or the places I used to work. People give you their card and tell you “Hey, I know everybody does this but can you just listen to it?” I do it 99% of the time because I was that person. I have hired bands this way. I think you should definitely promote that.
Is it more difficult to be a woman in this music industry?
I wouldn’t say so. I think it is more difficult to be young. Obviously, because you are the rookie, everybody is looking at you. I remember one of the songs I wrote on the previous record. I brought it in. Everybody laughed and said I was a shitty writer. They told me I should shut up and sing. I was like: “oh cool, so you don’t like it, fine”. But you fight to get it on your record and then it becomes massively successful and everybody is behind it. People look at me as a vocalist. I get that all the time. I have written for my first record and I am still getting press saying “Kelly is trying to write”. How many number ones do you have to be a part of, in order to be a writer? When do you get that professional logo?
Some people probably try to profit from you….
Is it hard to be the boss at 25? It can be taxing emotionally and mentally but at the end of the day I don’t think it gives you anything you can’t handle. I have been screwed over, yes. But I would rather be screwed over more than become suspicious. It sounds like I am getting screwed over a lot, I don’t. I am just saying for the times you have, I don’t think that is a reason to cut yourself off and play the whole cliché role ”Oh it’s so hard to be the star”. I think that is ridiculous. It is not hard.
What do you remember doing with your first big cachet?
My first big check was actually for my friend Jessica who signed me up for “American Idol”. Right after my place burnt down , I was driving home after living in my car for three days. When I arrived home, she told me about this audition. It ended up being Idol. I was like “All right, if I win this, I will buy you your dream car”. So when I won, I bought her a dream car. It was really funny. And it feels good.
Are you still in Texas?
Oh yes.
Why?
It’s my home. It’s my favorite place. I grew up there. There’s nothing like it. I live on 50 acres of land. No one is around. I love it. It is peaceful and normal.
Jean-Cosme Delaloye / Los Angeles
A French and shorter version of this story was published on June 16 2007 in 24heures and Tribune de Genève.
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