Artificial Idol Kelly Clarkson Navigates the Pop Scene

Author: Lanford Beard

At this particular moment in pop history, we seem to have transcended pre-fabrication. One too-soon-to-tell, pre-pre-fab success story is Kelly Clarkson, who earned her fame courtesy of a nationally televised talent contest in which she formed a musical persona before releasing her first album.
After the whirlwind success of "American Idol" this past summer, Clarkson was thrown into a situation of equal parts promise and bleakness.
The promise resulted from the fact that she should have 15 million fans immediately behind her if she could produce an album in the next few months.
The bleakness originated in three areas:
1) She had already cultivated an image based off of the songs of other (established) women.
2) She would have to compromise her own artistic development to give America what it wanted - more of the same.
3) The path forged by the pop stars before her is well-worn but not particularly hopeful.
The one exception to the television pop star rule, O-Town, has already made its name as a flash in the pan with hits like "Liquid Dreams," and I would bet that most of America wouldn't bat an eye at the mention of Eden's Crush and Scene 23.
So, with fame supposedly handed to her on a silver platter, Kelly Clarkson took several risks. After a post-victory press tour and the "American Idol" national tour, she postponed her album release to early 2003 and then again to April 15, 2003.
What's the scandal, you ask?
Primarily, Kelly risked losing the steam of her conditional status as America's sweetheart by virtually disappearing from the public eye. As many one-hit wonders before her have discovered, America's heart is fickle, and when we don't get what we want, we revolt.
Also, "AI's" savvy producers booked the beginning of the second season to begin in January 2003. Though Kelly has performed on episodes of the new season, the postponed release of her album places her in a precarious position where the potential love of new idols (like Ruuuuuuben, Clay and Trenyce) compromises her own marketability. After all, how can she be the "real" American Idol if another one will be pumped out in a few months?
In addition to these issues, Kelly had to ask herself some important questions about the warp-speed trajectory of her own shooting star of a career.
Would she chance overexposure by appearing on "AI 2", releasing a movie and an album all within a few months of each other? Furthermore, would this overexposure relegate her to the inconsequential fate of acts like New Kids on the Block and Tiffany?
Could she forge a dynamic pop persona despite the shifting tide of America's affections?
Could she stake any claim to her Idol status in the midst of twelve new contenders and in contest with the albums of the first season runners-up?
Can she count on the long-lasting affections of a public that hasn't seen her in - gasp - over six months? (Taking a break was even risky for pop's reigning princess, Britney Spears.)
Despite all these doubts and perils, Kelly continued recording her album, and now the finished product has been released in the form of her debut album, appropriately titled, "Thankful." And as a late-in-the-game "AI" fanatic, I know that I am truly thankful that Kelly hasn't been swallowed into pop oblivion.
Along with her first two singles, "Before Your Love" and "A Moment Like This," which were released a week after the "AI" season finale, Kelly has recorded 10 additional tracks. It is uncertain what the album's third single is, but I can say with certainty that the album as a whole is not what everyone expects.
When guessing the flow of the album, I envisioned two possible paths: 1) A collection of Celine Dion-style ballads that will satisfy the fans that voted for Kelly in her last weeks on "AI" or 2) A complete regression into synthesized pop alla oops-era Britney. Either of these options would take merely a good producer, a good lyricist and minimal participation on Kelly's part.
However, the album delay has allowed Kelly to offer up a mÈlange of pop confections. (She also had time to star in a movie musical with "AI" runner-up Justin Guarini, but the music and general content of that venture seems like a train wreck waiting to happen.)
"Thankful," of course, includes its share of diva songs like the first singles, the title track and "Anytime."
It is clear that Kelly isn't completely into her own on three of the album's tracks ("The Trouble with Love Is," "Low" and "What's Up Lonely"), which are basically sell-out, boring R&B send-ups. On the opposite end of the perspective is the funky and in-your-face song "Miss Independent." It is definitely the disc's most pop-infused track. Most of the songs, however, grow on you slowly. They seem bland at first, but the hooks and Kelly's vocal styling sharpen with each listen.
Among these dark horse tracks are "Beautiful Disaster" and "Just Missed the Train," which are not quite mainstream pop-country, not quite rock.
In the end, these tracks' ambiguous genre sells them more than anything. They demand more attention so that their idiosyncrasies can be defined and their subtleties appreciated.
The beauty of Kelly's voice is her ability to inject meaning and vulnerability into power ballads that showcase her booming diva voice. She showed it time and time on the show - particularly at the end when her voice could have collapsed at any moment.
The finest moment for this particular skill comes on the song "Some Kind of Miracle." Kelly showcases her restraint in all the right spots but this restraint does not preclude her from pulling out all the stops when appropriate.
My favorite song, "You Thought Wrong," features Tamyra Gray, the most shocking early exit from last year's "AI" race to celebrity.
She was Kelly's strongest competition, having the edge over even Guarini. Unlike the lukewarm ballad duets common to Barbara Streisand, this song is an angry, man-hating rock powerhouse - so good.
It is, I will mention, rather ironic that the most enjoyable song on the album only makes us anticipate more the release of another "AI" contestant - and in its irony appropriate. Like the pre-pre-fab celebrity that she is, even Kelly falls into the trap of egregious, monopolistic cross-promotion, but we'll forgive her for that. Who can blame her?
Overall, the album could be hurt by its lack of a consistent musical genre, but I like that variety. Kelly is not Matchbox 20, she needs some breathing room in order to sustain a career.
Ultimately, she is allowing herself to develop in any number of directions with this album, which is a shrewd move for someone in her position. So the age-old question pops up again? Is it the producers or the talent?
As we have noted with Britney Spears, good producers can shape a career and make it huge; and with Christina Aguilera, bad producers (and personal stylists - yikes!) can drive it into the ground.
Kelly, for now, is striking a good balance between unbounded talent and strict control.
Whichever path she chooses to follow in her continued development is still in question, and no one can promise Kelly a long career, but based on her performance on this album, at least she can say she did it with dignity.