Everyone thank Kelly Clarkson for saving pop music
She has one of the greatest voices in pop music--competing with the likes of vocal powerhouses such as her contemporaries Joss Stone, and Christina Aguilera, as well as music icons like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Ron
I'd like to add some things most people don't know....
Kelly wrote the bridge on "miss independent", arguably the best part of a song that Aguilera thought was not good enough for her 20 track album.
"you thought wrong" (and "thankful") was written by kelly from scratch, and arguably the best on her 1st album, but never given to radio.
Kelly refused to put out the planned crap album right after her idol win, and took 7 months to put out a quality album, a move than likely saved AI sales from being a joke.
Kelly had to fight for "Miss Independents" release, because RCA wanted "some kind of miracle" out instead to capitalize on her ballad success.
Kelly wrote the deepest songs on album2 from scatch (addicted, because of you, hear me, hazel eyes) a co-wrote others (walk away, where is you heart), but RCA twisted her arm to record more teen music (breakaway, since you been gone, gone). It is not a bad plan by RCA to gain young fans for a life-long ride w/ kelly; the Beatles did the same thing in 1963-64.
Kelly lost a fight on album1 to do the beautiful, "beautiful disaster" w/ just piano arrangement, but she won on album2.
27 - Natalie Davis
Yes, she writes songs. Great. Mr. Ron, no one is saying she is an untalented hack. Quite the contrary.
28 - Chris Evans
That's what's pissing me off. For some reason, some of these people are acting like because we're saying Kelly isn't a legend (yet, anyway), that we are saying she sucks. That's not the case at all, and if you READ my review, that would be clear. Hell...the title is...Thank You For SAVING Pop Music
29 - Chris Evans
Okay well...the original title said that. Haha. They must have changed it.
30 - Natalie Davis
Mr. Evans, you made your point quite clearly within the article and in your subsequent postings. No worries. If people are upset with you for not going along with their sycophantic belief that Clarkson is the be-all and end-all of music, that is their problem.
31 - cal
To the person who even want's to try and compare Clarkson to Janis Joplin, no way should they even be mentioned in the same sentence. I just watched her on Aol concert. I thought she was good and had a good voice but after seeing the concert footage, I was terribly dissapointed. She cannot hit the high notes. Not even close. Now I know it was all studio tricks, playing the song in a different key, and then speeding it up. If this is the best American Idol can produce, Im glad I never watched that show. Number one hits don't speak for how great an artist is. Let your ears be the judge. And its the live performance, not the studio recording, that shows who is better. I like Clarksons recorded music. In fact I love the song "Behind Hazel Eyes". But studio tricks is like womens cosmetics. It can do wonders and make an average person sound good. Here's some consolation. Elton John, who I love his music, is another one who can't hit the notes in concert. He's damned terrible live. Don't know why these artists don't sing it in the true key in which they should. But I gotta give Elton John credit, because at least, he can write his songs. Listening to Clarkson live, will make a person cringe, and feel embarrased for her. Dionne Warwick can sing better live than her recordings! Now she is a rarity.
32 - Ron
As for her live concert last night on AOL, I would suggest watching her live performances on AOL from last Novemeber when her voice was rested, like "Hear me" which i think is better than the album version.
Kelly sings a lot of difficult songs, night after night on tour, so i think it is unrealistic to expect any human to do the wild notes every time, on every song, on every night.
I agree Janis and Kelly should not be in the same sentence, but probably for the opposite reason as you.
33 - Ron
I understand remembering well of people who die young, but come on....janis was 27 yrs old when she died, i.e., if she were going to affect music, she would have already largely done so by 27 (kelly is 23). In fact her only #1 hit (as I detailed above) was only out of sympathy: " Tragically, she died before the album's release, overdosing on heroin in a Hollywood hotel in October 1970. "Me and Bobby McGee" became a posthumous number one single in 1971, and thus the song with which she is most frequently identified."
If i can use a golf analogy, it is like saying Joe.S is a Legend because he won his 1st regular trophy at 28 yrs old, when he died. But when Tiger woods won his 6th major (only 10 golfers had more major wins) at age 25, he is not a legend because he is new.
However, Tiger was then a legend even if he never played golf again.
34 - Natalie Davis
Janis is a legend. She earned the title before she turned 27, before her untimely death. Perhaps her death helped feed the legend, but ask any experts and they'll say the same. And again, #1s don't mean diddly. Quality often is not rewarded in the marketplace and often, the biggest hits are horrible songs. Not saying that Kelly Clarkson isn't worth diddly or that her songs are horrible. Quite the contrary. (Geez, I am BORED with having to make disclaimers all the damn time.) But look at all the legends who did not sell millions of records or make millions of dollars or rack up Grammy Awards. Kelly's had #1s. Good for her. Does that, in and of itself, mean anything more than that she is popular? No. And popularity does not always equal good, much less legendary.
35 - Ron
By the way, i think kelly did great on the AOL concert, but at least watch the 1st song and make up your own mind.....you don't need AOL to access... http://music.channel.aol.com/videos/live_concerts/kelly_clarkson
36 - Natalie Davis
I think she did too. Agai, Mr. Ron, no one is saying the girl isn't talented.
37 - Karl Rutherford
if i found a peice of paper and it had all kinds of stuff about kelly clarkson on it but was laying on the floor i would go to the file cabinet and put the peice of paper in the folder that says "documents to be reviewed" and i would tell a manager or my freind ron
38 - Temple Stark
Karl - warning. Your comments are useless and will be deleted unless they relate to .. well anything in the threads you have essentially spammed.
It's not hardwork to delete many of your comments at once
- Thanks. Temple
Blogcritics.org Exec. Editor
39 - Karl Rutherford
i am angry now
40 - Natalie Davis
Imagine how people feel when they see what is essentially the same meaningless bit of gibberish on posting after posting? It made me furious.
41 - Karl Rutherford
i am angry and furious also
42 - Natalie Davis
I can only imagine how annoyed Mr. Stark must be. Au revoir, Mr. Rutherford.
43 - Karl Rutherford
i am so annoyed too. this is angering and i am furious too Mr Davis
44 - nugget
Cal: hahaha. You think janis joplin could hit the high notes?? I understand your point but I thought making a comparison based on voice quality was silly.
45 - Cal
I did watch Kelly Clarksons first song on Aol, and it was good. It was not a demanding song. Maybe it was that her voice was stressed by the time she got to Hazel Eyes. I was also thinking maybe it's her running around, or she couldn't hear herself, but it was terrible.
Here is a small list of folks who can really sing great in concert. Celine Dion, Steve Tyler of Aerosmith, Alanis Morrisette. And they sing some really demanding songs.
Here's some things that make a singer great. A recognizable voice, like Karen Carpenter. Phrasing. Got to have good phrasing. Range is a good thing to have, but not necessary, if you stick to songs you can handle.
I guess, bottom line is everyone has their own opinion. Mine is Kelly Clarkson isn't great, and will never be great. She's ok. I saw Pat Benatar in concert many years ago. She could really hit the notes live! She was awesome.
46 - Cal
Ron, speaking about legendary Janis Joplin. I can hear her influence when I listen to the singer from Heart. Janis did affect music.
Another band who I hear everyone nowadays trying to copy is Greenday. So many bands coming out with that nasal blockage singing sound.
I don't think anyone is trying to copy Kelly Clarkson's style, probably because she doesn't have a distinct one. I consider Clarkson, kinda generic. And generic is not the stuff of legend.
47 - Natalie Davis
Sometimes, to me, it sounds like Clarkson is copying Christina Aguilera.
48 - Ron
Cal, you say having a unique sound makes one a legend, which i think kelly has.
but, kelly can also change her sound to fit the needs, which is also stuff of legend. In addition to my examples above is that she is the only singer on this album...yes, those back-ground vocals are her too.
Some indie rockers are covering "since u been gone". "breakaway", "a moment like this", "beautiful disaster", and "you thought wrong" have all been covered. but being covered and imitated does that time.
kelly has been imitated by the back street boys (bsb), in a way. i hate to admit it, but eminem is a legend for moving rap music into pop (meaning popular) from 1999 to 2005. bsb didn't think their style would sell in 2003, so they recorded an urban album, until they saw kelly's success last xmas. bsb then went to kelly's people and recorded a pop/rock album like kelly's.
the way radio and trl voters hold onto a kelly song and will not let go (in a sea of hip-hop/rap) has gotten other pop/rockers more airplay and time on trl, etc.
kelly's album has been in the top20 for over 32 wks, whereas 50-c is down to 17 in his 19th wk, and eminem is 71 in 35th wk.
she will also pass U2 in total sales for their latest album (remember U2 selling like 1M its 1st wk) in 3-4 wks, and Destiny Child, Avril, and many other big names.
49 - Ron
also, kelly's 3rd album song, "hazel eyes" will go #1 in 1-2 wks, w/songs being on radio as fast as possible since "breakaway" hit the airwaves june04.
50-c is basically off radio already after 3 songs starting in jan05.
eminem is basically off radio already after 6 songs starting in oct04.
Destiny.C is basically off radio already after 4 songs starting in oct04.
50 - Cal
Ron, your points are well taken and all good. Still doesn't change my opinion of Clarkson, but it's nice to know, on a public message board, that folks can still have a debate, in a civil manner.
Maybe it's my age, but I can hardly tell, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff, and all the other female teen pop queens of today. I can tell them apart, but I have to listen to the song for awhile, and then guess. They have different phrasing styles, and sing slightly different types of songs, but they kind of have the same tonality. When I hear Janis Joplin, or Karen Carpenter, after only a few words, I know who it is. They are that distinct.
I think that to judge by record sales is misleading. And to compare legends of yesteryear to now, is apples and oranges. If you asked kids in the 60's, what they want to be when they grow up, pop star was probably low on the list. Nowadays, it is much much higher. I also think the average age of music buyers nowadays, might be much lower than it was back then. Nowadays, music is catering to kids. In the 60's, I think it catered more to the college crowd. Also, nowadays, the marketing is much stronger than a few decades ago.
And what ever is happening to a truly great young girl who I had so high hopes for named Nelly Furtado? She is talented. In my opinion, she is quite unique, and she writes great songs.
One last thing that I have noticed in music. Songs I don't catch on to at first, are songs I never tire of, once I do get it. Songs that you can learn on the first listen, you hate after a couple of times. Example: Don't Worry, Be Happy. It went to the top of the charts. Top of the charts to me, doesn't mean much.
51 - Ron
Cal,
I am 41. my 46 yr old friend may love kelly more than me. my 74 yr old dad (a dj in the 50's) loves kelly, and watched her whole AOL concert and loved it. other times, his only complaint sometimes is the music drowns her out a little. most of my other friends love her too.
a VJ on mtv said her parents saw kelly in concert the other day.
I have not been this excited about music since i discovered the Beatles in high school (yes, it was after they had been broken up for 10yrs).
As for kelly's recorded voice sounding like others, maybe it was done on purpose, w/o kelly's knowledge. Maybe it was done to trick people who wanted to hate kelly because she came from a talent show, but, once the fell in love w/ her song, they would still love it after discovering it was kelly.
52 - Ty
I think it's quite hilarious to say that the way she sounds on the album is all studio tricks. The way she won American Idol PROVES that she can sing and perform LIVE.
Listen to her cover of "Why." Listen to her sing "Where Is Your Heart" in concert. So she's not able to sing songs like SUBG nor BTHE just like the album only because it's late in the show and she's been touring basically for the past 3 months which means her vocals aren't at 100%. You want to hear SUBG the way it's supposed to sound with her at 100%? Go listen to her SUBG performance from the American Idol Christmas special from last year. 'Nuff said.
53 - CBH
Of course Kelly isn't a legened (yet) holy crap give the girl time to grow as an artist she's only on her 2nd album and has only been in this business for 3 years. Look at Usher he wasn't really that big until now (several years later). I think Kelly is the most talented singer out there right now, I've been to her concerts and her voice is absolutely AMAZING I get chills everytime.
You sit down and actually listen to her lyrics on the Breakaway album and tell me that those aren't unbelievable for only her 2nd album, imagine what she has to come in the future if she keeps writting songs like "Because of You", "Addicted" etc. Personally she is and always will be my favorite singer because she has inspired me musically and is truly an amazing person who doesn't want all the hype and all the media attention, someone who is focused on her musical career. If you don't like her, her music, or her voice, you at least gotta RESPECT her, for the things she has overcome. I've never seen someone in the music buisness work as hard as her, just look at her schedule the past year, it will make your jaw drop. Just give her time and a chance to grow as an artist and I know she will come through.
54 - CBH
Oh and if she doen't come home with at least one Grammy, it will be a joke.
55 - Ron
above, someone said kelly needed to be covered ..... i listed many who have covered her, and here is another (avril's opening act), "opened the show with an energetic and animated 45-minute set, including a power-punk version of American Idol Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone,'"
here
56 - Preston
Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway is far better than her debut. It has some no-nonsense rock numbers in the arena rock heavy Behind Those Hazel Eyes, Since U Been Gone, You Found Me, Hear Me and others. She sounds dramatic on ballads like Where Is Your Heart, Breakaway and Addicted. Her writing on several of the songs match very well with what she's feeling on them. I don't think she's a legend now as some people have wrote here. She needs 20 years or so in the music business before she is called that. Because Breakaway has sold so rapidly the past 7-8 months, people want to give her that label, but she's relatively new, only been around in music for 3 years. Kelly will grow with time, and this Breakaway album justifies how solid a singer and artist she is.
57 - Chris Evans
Wow, I didn't realize how big an issue this would become. Haha. Yeah, I'm watching her AOL concert now. A lot of the high notes aren't working out too well...but dear JESUS, this woman has been touring forever. I'm surprised she can even speak. She really is my absolute favorite singer and I will be officially protesting the Grammys if she wins nothing.
58 - Bob A. Booey
Let's not get carried away here. She has a good voice and she's selling a lot of records, but she's not some timeless great artist. Christina's better cuz she's hot as hell, who cares about the music.
That being said, I kinda like her new songs I've heard on the radio. I was in a store shopping one day and I heard them playing "Breakaway" and I thought, "That's a pleasant song." When I turned around to look at the video monitor and saw Kelly, I was slightly ashamed. But then I stumbled across the video for "Since U Been Gone" and I liked that one even better -- that's a great popwer pop/pseudo-punky gem of a song that really takes her in a different direction to try and get money from the Avril fans. I know all her hits are written by one of those weird Swedish pop impresarios (the 40-something Abba Jrs. of the world with weird bleached blonde hair named Max and Sven), but they're still good, catchy pop songs even if they're pretty dumb lyrically.
Of course, I would never buy her album. I learned my lesson after, in the spur of the moment, buying Fantasia's "I Believe" single right after she won American Idol. Yes, that's right, you heard me, I bought her single off Amazon for $5 -- it still stares at me from my CD rack having been listened to only once. I can't bring myself to throw it away, but I'm not proud of it.
That is all.
59 - Chris Evans
Lmao...because you just sound SO completely credible.
60 - Joe
Whoa, well I came here to read the review and was about to comment about how I completely agree before I saw the explosion of comments haha...
Kelly is good and does have amazing potential...her vocal range is some of the best and she has shown a great deal of improvement on Breakaway from her first album. She's not yet the stuff of "legend," necessarily, but maybe ten or twenty years from now if she's still going at it the way she is? Maybe then she can be considered a "legend."
And I say this as a Kelly fan as well.
61 - Bob A. Booey
Chris, that's because I'm INCREDIBLE, baby. IN-CREDIBLE.
That is all.
62 - The Theory
I bought Breakaway on the strength of Since U Been Gone and I haven't regretted it. about a quarter of the songs are excellent, another half pretty good, with only a quarter of the songs being skippable.
63 - Nick
I just wanted to back Kelly not being able to hit the high notes live... I was at the Orlando show (the one AOL recorded and has been showing online) and it was absolutely deafening in there. The following day I jumped online and watched it again, and there is a huge difference in the way the crowd sounds. (They sound relatively weak on the feed) I think that she probably couldn't hear herself very well, along with the fact that she's on her second straight tour this year.
Me, being a huge Kelly fan, have to agree that's she's not at the caliber to be called a legend yet. Give her time; I'm sure she'll get closer to the title, even if she never manages to earn it.
64 - Rashad Rolle
I love Kelly Clarkson, i think she is going to an extremly successful artist, . That said I don't think she is the best singer like some of you noted, She's fantastic vocally but some of her rivals like Christina are without question better vocally, and i wou'nt even start talking about those outside that Christina, Kelly type of music. I really hope she stops all this bunch of sreaming, because it would be really sad to see such a quality artist like her, develop nods, or loses her voice due to a bunch of shouting. And why do you people always say she is the only successful AI contestent. Its not fair to compare her to other contestents, she has an advantage of being the first, and besides there are other already who are already giveing her run for her money, like Clay. Vocally only one singer on AI was better than her and thats Latoya London. Some close ones are fantasia, jennifer H, Carrie U, Clay A, and Tamyra G. all thes people in due time could reach to her territory.
65 - Ron
funny to watch the public's reaction to kelly.
during AI1, kelly made another flop talent show a popular show, so it was a guilty pleasure (because we loved it, even though we thought we shouldn't).
then kelly was supposed to flop like all talent show people, biggest prior success was like #70 on the charts.
after "a moment like this" became #1, she was a one-hit wonder.
when she refused to make a quick, crappy cash-in album, she had missed her window to capitalize on the show. her album was considered such a joke, that no reviews were done until after it became #1.
then "miss independent" became #1 for 6wks, and all of a sudden, "american idol" was a real show of talent, so ruben and clay were taken seriously.
then fantasia was referred by "experts" as the 1st real talent to come from "american idol", lol.
funny to hear "guilty pleasure" again referring to "since u been gone", meaning rockers who ignored her before are now fans, and they are covering the song.
even now, kelly is the only success outside America. #2 album this wk in all of Australia (http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-display.asp?chart=1A50) and 3rd wk for subg in top7 in uk (http://www.hit40uk.com/chart.asp).
uk has been especially tough because they invented AI, and they hate their products from the show, and the show's ratings have flopped.
I hope kelly doesn't unfairly help others from AI there, like she did here. nor how America still loves the show kelly came from.
66 - Rene
I believe Kelly Clarkson deserves all of the success she has atained. She is truly talented vocally unlike most "singers" with hits out there right now.
I don't believe that she's the best singer ever but I do believe that she's right up there with any of them that are out there right now including Christina Aguilera. By the way, Christina can sound pretty shrill sometimes with the high notes and I heard she had to postpone some concerts because she blew some vocal chordes while recording a new album.
I have seen Kelly in concert in the first leg of her tour and she sounded awesome. I agree that it's unfair to expect her to be at 100% vocally when you're going out there night after night for months singing like that. Having said that, I wonder why an artist would put themselves in the position of not being able to give 100% to their fans. For someone with a vocal powerhouse like Kelly, I wish she would rest her voice for two or three days in between concerts.
I truly hope that Kelly continues to grow artistically. I think she has the stuff that legends are made of.
67 - Pia
Kelly Clarkson IS a legend already and I don't know what you people are talking about. Breakaway was just certified triple platinum. Take that, haters.
68 - Caii
to that natalie girl, the girl who wrote "I WAVE MY HAND" was referring to someone who previously wrote "If you like Kelly Clarkson, WAVE YOUR HANDS IN AIR!! YEAH!". And I think you are incredibly ignorant. You're one of those people who can't stand to have their opinions put down. I read your opinions and I don't agree with all of them, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be petty and ridiculous because they don't coincide with my own. So please lay off and high schoolers deserve a lot of respect. Most highschoolers out there today are smarter and have stronger opinions and care more about real issues than a lot of adults. So cool down and take this advice: Listen to others opinions and accept them even if they don't agree with your own. Trust me, people hate people who shoot down their opinion constantly. kthanks.
**caii
69 - Ron
others in music are treating kelly like a legend, from Fall Out Boy: "Wentz and his bandmates are reveling in the fact that video jockeys are getting paid to say Eminem, Kelly Clarkson and Fall Out Boy in the same breath."
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1282&dept_id=553365&newsid=14944841&PAG=461&rfi=9
70 - Cal
Hi Ron,
Interesting that you should mention Fall Out Boy. In my comment #46, when I talked about the nasal blockage singing style of Greenday, and those following that formula, Fall Out Boy was the band I had in mind.
I'm not here to bash Kelly. She's a good singer, but she chooses dangerous material to sing. Or at least sings it in a dangerous key.
The other day, I saw Brian Adams on VH1, and he did a live studio performance. Only him and his acoustic guitar. He sang "Straight From The Heart". He was awesome! Now, Brian Adams has a voice many wouldn't consider as quality. Kinda rusty sounding like Rod Stewart. But he knows how to use what he has. And he has great phrasing, and feel. I hope you got to see that.
I think voice quality has a lot to do with genetics. And phrasing, you get by listening to the people who raise you. Example. Bob Dylan and his son, the singer from the Wallflowers. I gotta say though, that the Wallflowers singer sounds better than dad. :-) Another example. Julian Lennon and John Lennon. Can hardly tell their voices apart.
These are just the ramblings of an old music fan, on the lookout for future legends. I really like Lifehouse. To folks who like to rattle off numbers as a way to gauge greatness in music, use your ears and not your eyes. Music is for the ears. That is why Janis Joplin was popular oh so long ago, and why she would never make it in music nowadays. Video killed the radio star. Oh so true! Clarksons Cd is good enough to be popular even if she didn't look good, but she wouldn't have even gotten the chance, if she looked like Janis Joplin. :-)And whatever happened to The Corrs? Ahh, the magic of Mutt Lange.
71 - Chris Evans
I completely disagree. I think Kelly would have been famous no matter what she looked like. She's talented enough. Not to mention the fact that she's no Sharon Stone. o___O She's basically just the ordinary girl next door. So I don't see how you figure her looks got her anywhere.
72 - Cal
Hi Chris,
Maybe I'm judging Clarkson too harshly. I saw the music video for Behind Hazel Eyes. I was all set to buy the cd. Next thing I know, I see her concert clip on Aol, and it just shattered my illusion of her. Now, I know the cd will sound great, but just how much of that cd is a credit to Kelly, and how much to the technicians and producer?
I know Kelly is no Sharon Stone, but Janis was no um, err, well, I can't think of someone less attractive at the moment. Maybe the actress in Throw Mama From The Train.
Now, I love Def Leppard, but it also kind of shattered me to find out how they wrote the songs on Pyromania. Mutt Lange had them write bits and pieces. Riffs and hooks. And then they pieced them together to form the songs.
Some things, I think I am better off not knowing. I wish I had never seen Kelly's concert footage.
I also never watch the extra features on dvd movies. It takes away from the magic of the movie. I'm just a weird person I guess, so don't pay my rambling much mind. :-)By the way, I dropped by your blog and liked it and bookmarked it. Like your writing.
73 - Chris Evans
Thank you! :D
74 - kita
kelly clarkson rocks she is way better then delta or lindsay she schould be on the TOP coz see is way better then that stupied crazy frog i loved her concert at american idol i just love her and soo does my family and my boyfriend but i can handel that because she rocks and is she coming to Australia because i would diffently go and see her live
75 - Kenny
I think Kelly is SO great and anyone that doesn't is just an idiot.