Kelly finds her voice

Following the runaway success of her Grammy-award-winning album, Breakaway, a more mature sounding Kelly Clarkson has emerged on the highly anticipated, My December. Written almost entirely by the 25-year-old Texan and produced by Grammy winner David Kahne (The Strokes, Bangles, Paul McCartney, Sugar Ray, Sublime), the album has been surrounded by controversy due to reports record company head Clive Davis wanted her to move in a different musical direction.
Unlike her sugary debut, Thankful, and the impossibly catchy tunes on Breakaway (the third highest selling record in the US in 2005), Clarkson’s dark side is revealed on My December, adding another layer to her girl-next-door persona. In fact, some of the lyrics are reminiscent of an earlier, angst-ridden Alanis Morissette. Relaxing in her Beverly Hills hotel room, she smiles at the comparison. “Yeah, when Jagged Little Pill came out, it was one of my favourites. There are a couple of songs on My December influenced by Alanis – Never Again, and Judas.”
The first American Idol winner is remarkably down-to-earth and refreshingly devoid of diva-like tendencies. “I haven’t changed because I don’t live in Hollywood,” she says. “I live back home in Texas, out in the country. My brother and I are like 10-year-olds with money. Like, we have go-carts and Jeeps and we have a whole set-up of a band rig so we go and just play. We live right by a lake so I have a normal life.”
Clarkson has become a staple in popular culture all over the world. Her name was famously screamed by Steve Carell’s character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin while getting his chest waxed, and mentioned in songs like the remix of You Know I’m No Good, by Amy Winehouse. “Yeah,” she laughs. “It’s all very surreal. I still pinch myself at times.”
To her credit, she has employed friends and family members and avoids the trap of hiring “yes” people. “My brothers travel with me and work with me and my best friend does hair and make-up so my touring band is basically like my second family.
“I’m not into the drug thing and I don’t drink excessively. I have a good time. I see my friends and we have some wine, but I’m not into anything crazy.”
Understandably, Clarkson sounds weary of negative influences and addressed the subject of her body image and fluctuating weight. “Look, I grew up in a small town and I’m so used to everybody having their two cents’ worth to say about me but even so, no one likes to hear that they’re fat. Actually, when I’m out of LA, I think I look pretty normal.
“I’ve travelled the world, and I don’t have any money problems but, when it comes to finding a boyfriend, I’m so screwed!” she says, laughing. “It’s hard for a guy to deal with your girlfriend being this famous or for them being called Mr Clarkson.”
However, she says, grinning, “I love where I am in my life. I didn’t grow up with money so it’s fun to be able to spend money on cool stuff and hanging out with my friends. I have no complaints.”