December doldrums

KELLY Clarkson has become this year's poster girl for record company versus artist. Her third album, My December, is the year's most discussed and analysed pop record.
It arrived surrounded by rumours of battles between Clarkson and her record company over the correct way to follow up the 11 million selling Breakaway.

However, Clarkson claims to be the one person not bothered by any of the fuss, misconceptions or rumours.

"I just laugh it off," Clarkson says.

"The weird and funny thing with this whole situation is that it's not that different a record. It's a bit harder than a normal pop record but it's still a pop record. The way some people were talking about it I'd think 'Have you listened to the record? It's not Guns N'Roses, people'."

Clarkson graciously addresses the whirlpool of rumours that greeted the arrival of My December.

One claimed she was offered $10 million by Clive Davis, the 72-year-old head of her record label, to drop four songs from the album and replace them with four songs by guaranteed hitmakers.

"There's always truth to any label offering you money to do things they know are going to be successful," Clarkson admits.

"So, yeah, but I'm not saying that entire thing is true."

She denies claims she was told to apologise to Davis after their creative battle became public. She also claims there was no creative war.

"There's no battle," Clarkson says. "That's the funniest part. That's been the irony of my life for the last three months.

"Every single record I've made is the record I wanted to make. I'll never come out with a record I don't like.

"I mean, I'm singing. It's not like you can be forced to sing something you don't want to sing. It's obviously an age-old struggle, the artist fighting for their art, but I'm not that artsy. I'm a pop singer."

An interview with Blender magazine this year quoted Clarkson slating her record company.

She claims she was misquoted, despite industry rumours claiming Clarkson was told to apologise to Davis (she did so on her website) and play nice (another rumour she denies).

She told the magazine Clive Davis hated her self-penned 2005 hit Because of You.

"I never actually said that," Clarkson clarifies. "I never had a discussion with Clive about any of the music on Breakaway. The label weren't that excited about Because of You. They weren't really into it. I had to really work at that one, get it out there, and it was successful. I don't think it's 'Oh, I'm mad at the label' it was more 'I've shown you I can write, people liked it, let's work together for the next project'."

She also denies a quote that said her record company didn't take her seriously because she was "25 and a woman".

"That's a misquote. I never said that. The only upsetting part of stuff like that is when your family calls you up and says 'Why would you say that?' I wanted to hang up on them. My family are supposed to already know that stuff isn't true."

Interestingly, she split with high-powered manager Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm (who recently dropped Britney Spears as a client) around the time of the My December media debate – he was blamed for the arena tour and the low ticket sales that saw it scrapped for a downsized version.

She is now managed by Narvel Blackstock, husband and manager of her idol Reba McEntire.

"It's a hard situation everybody's in," Clarkson says of leaving her previous manager. "We're in a bubble. It was a crazy couple of months. The people I'm with now I got on better with, we come from the same background. We're the same kind of people, we're very chilled and laid-back.

"He's (Blackstock) very different from my previous managers. Which isn't bad or good, but at this time in my life I think it's good to have someone that's more like me."

Clarkson says the drama over My December was a case of deja vu.

"When Since U Been Gone came out everyone was like 'Ooh, it's too hard, she's a rock chick now. It's a pop song. I say 'Yeah yeah in the song! That'd never be in a rock song. It's amazing to me everyone thinks it's so different, but that's cool. I guess people are intrigued by the fact that I do like to change it up. I don't like to repeat myself."

She even manages to laugh off the critical and commercial reaction to the record.

"I read 'Kelly Clarkson's album comes into the (US) chart at a disappointing No. 2. I was like 'disappointing'? Breakaway only made No. 3 and that ended up selling 11 million. I just laugh at it. People try to turn things around to make them bad. I'm fortunate. I don't care. My fans are why I got here and why I've sold a million copies of this album so far."

More rumours – she's writing a country song with Justin Timberlake.

"No. But he has talked about it, we might do it in the future. People said I was making a country/blues album next, but I said in one interview I was writing a country/blues song. I'd never come out with an album that's just one kind of music, there's a lot of influences in everything I do. Otherwise I'd get bored and you'd get bored."

Blogger Perez Hilton ran a story that she was prepared to cut her losses and record a new album ASAP with the pop songs Clive Davis wanted after My December struggled in the charts.

"I don't know Perez Hilton and he doesn't know my schedule," Clarkson says. "We're not in the studio. We're touring this album. We're working."

However, there is one rumour that is actually true.

Clarkson went on an American Idol charity show earlier this year, raising money for children living in poverty in the US and Africa.

She sang Patti Griffin's Up to the Mountain, a song she's added to her new stage show.

source:http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22523851-5003421,00.html