Kelly Clarkson grows stronger, more determined (2024)

It seems safe to bet that none of Kelly Clarkson’s singing partners on her upcoming “reality” TV series, “Duets,” will be long-shot GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. But when it comes to the very big-voiced Clarkson — who created a burst of controversy when she casually endorsed Paul on her Twitter account earlier this year — you never can tell.

The winner of the debut season of “American Idol” in 2002, Clarkson, 29, performs here Tuesday at Valley View Casino Center (formerly the San Diego Sports Arena), where she concludes the first leg of her “Stronger Tour 2012.” The concert trek, which began Jan. 13 on the East Coast, draws its name from her fifth studio album, “Stronger,” one of her best to date.

The Texas-bred vocal dynamo is confirmed to be a judge and performer on the upcoming ABC-TV series “Duets,” on which she and fellow judges Lionel Richie, Robin Thicke and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles will seek out unknown singing partners and duet with them. The winner will get a record deal, exactly as Clarkson herself did after she won top honors on “Idol” a decade ago this year.

Her longevity has come as a surprise in an era of almost instantly disposable pop stars — an era fueled, in large part, by “Idol” itself. Or, as Clarkson reminded the audience at her Jan. 15 concert in Atlantic City, N.J., it is not uncommon for longtime fans to tell her: “You were cute on your karaoke show.”

Since her “Idol” triumph, she has sold 20 million albums worldwide (with half those coming in the U.S. and the majority being for her 2004 album, “Breakaway”). She has also won two Grammys and scored a slew of hit singles, including “A Moment Like This,” “Because of You,” “Since U Been Gone, “My Life Would Suck Without You,”the self-affirming “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” and “Mr. Know It All” (of which she has now released two versions, the second a predominantly acoustic rendition geared to country-music radio.)

What makes Clarkson’s success more intriguing is the fact that she is one of the few “Idol alums who writes or co-writes a fair number of their own songs. She is also the only one whose quest to follow her artistic instincts — the better to rock out and break free from the “Idol” cookie-cutter pop mold — prompted her to fire her management team and engage in a prolonged public battle with her record company, RCA.

The controversy began when Clarkson insisted that her third album, 2007s “My December,” be released with the songs she wanted on it, no more, no less. This led to strenuous objections from then-RCA honcho Clive Davis, the legendary mogul who has helped guide the careers of everyone from the late Whitney Houston and San Diego singer BC Jean to Alicia Keys and 2004 “Idol” finalist Jennifer Hudson.

Davis loudly maintained that “My December” wasn’t commercial enough, didn’t have any obvious hit singles and would harm Clarkson’s career (which turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy). To her credit, she wouldn’t back down, although it cost her a heavy price in the end.

Clarkson’s debut headlining arena tour — which had been timed to coincide with “My December” — was abruptly canceled and the album’s scheduled release date was shelved. Davis was so peeved that he used his guest appearance on the May, 2007, “Idol” finale to aim some scathing, on-air barbs in Clarkson’s direction. “My December” finally came out in June of that year, reluctantly released by a record company that showed little enthusiasm for it, or for Clarkson. It did not do well.

At the time, Davis was one of the most powerful people in a music industry he had helped guide and rule since the 1970s. Going head to head with him was a gutsy move for any artist, let alone one as young and relatively inexperienced as Clarkson.

Paradoxically, her grit and determination — and her ability to convey both qualities in her music — account for much of her appeal. A product of a hard knock life (as Jay-Z might put it), she grew up under trying circ*mstances in a single-parent home in her native Texas. Had Davis researched her background more carefully, he wouldn’t have been surprised that she seemed to regard Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” as both a mantra and a mission.

There’s a good reason Clarkson first post-”Idol” single was entitled “Miss Independent.” It’s the same reason that, on the recent “Mr. Know It All,” she sings: Ain’t it, ain’t it something y’all/ When somebody tells you something about you / Think that they know you more than you do.

There’s a similarly good reason that, on her current tour, Clarkson addresses — rather than avoids — some of the controversies that have dogged her.

As The Hollywood Reporter noted in its review of her Atlantic City concert, during her performance of “Dark Side,” various headlines are projected above Clarkson on the stage. They include: “Record Label Drops Clarkson,” “Kelly is Fat,” “Make-Up Mishap for Clarkson,” and various negative labels such as “Failure,” “Losing Sponsors” and “Album Leaks,” while conspicuously omitting any reference to her recent Ron Paul/Twitter controversy).

True, Kelly Clarkson will never be a cutting-edge artist, nor does that remotely appear to be her goal. But in her post-”Idol” world, she’s strong enough to stick to her guns. That may not make her unique, but it does make her a welcome exception to the rule in an era where imitation and conformity rule pop-music more than ever before.