Kelly Clarkson
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Kelly Clarkson gives a very candid and funny interview in the August 2007 issue of Blender. Here are some highlights from it...

On what she does in her free time: “You know, I never go out. If I’m in L.A., I’m usually at my house playing Guitar Hero.”

On her lying music label, BMG: “Everyone keeps saying how hard this record because be because of all the crap surrounding it, but that last one was really hard to make. I literally got told to my face that it wouldn’t sell more than 600,000 copies. And I got lied to. One reason I don’t like working with people at the label is that they like. They told me, ‘We really want you to got Sweden. These people really want to write with you.’

So I flew to Sweden with lyrics I’d written to this track I’d been send, ‘Since U Been Gone.’ I get there, and the writers are like, ‘Oh, we already have lyrics. We just want you to sing it.’ It was really awkward. It was mean. That’s why there’s no relationship with them. Because I don’t like to be lied to.

On ex-boyfriend David Hodges, former Evanescence keyboardist: “I didn’t even really like the guy. I’m more mad at myself for being so blind. Why would I pick someone like him to date? What’s wrong with me? … It’s fine in the end. Maybe I ahd to go through that and learn more about myself. Maybe that’s why I don’t date much, either.”

On how many boys she’s made out with: “Four? No, wait. Oh my God, five! I have major trust issues. [laughs] I just don’t make out with people. That’s a waste of my kisses and time. And it’s so personal. It’s like, my face. Plus, I’m afraid of mouth herpes.”

On her face-to-face meeting with music exec Clive Davis: “It was nice. It was just the two of us, and his dog. I was like, I don’t know you very well, and I am not a bulls******. I get you don’t like the album. You’re 80; you’re not supposed to like my album. I said, ‘Clive, I’m going to make tons of albums. It doesn’t have to be mainstream every time. Then he kept bringing up people he’s worked with. ‘You’re a Whitney! You’re a Mariah!’ ‘First of all, Mariah writes a lot of her stuff. Secondly, I dont’ want a career like either of those singers.

That’s why it’s hard for us to make an album. You don’t know me! You don’t know what I like, and you don’t know what my fans like.”

Take that, Clive Davis!

While the head of RCA was not a fan of Kelly Clarkson's new CD, "My December", fans of the original American Idol appear to feel differently.

"My December" debuted at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 weekly album sales chart, according Nielsen Soundscan figures for the week ending July 2.  Clarkson's third album - the first in which she either wrote or co-wrote every song - sold 291,000 copies in its first week of release.

Clarkson's album trailed only "Hannah Montana 2 (Soundtrack)/Meet Miley Cyrus," two-disc 20-set set that combines Cyrus' debut album with music from the Disney Channel TV show that the 14-year-old stars in.  Cyrus -- the daughter of country singer, Hannah Montana co-star and fourth-season Dancing with the Stars participant Billy Ray Cyrus -- sold 326,000 copies in her album's first week of release.

"My December's" debut week sales surpassed those of "Breakaway," Clarkson's Grammy-winning 2004 second album that has since sold over 10 million copies.  "Breakaway," which was released during the more competitive holiday season sales period, debuted at No. 3 and sold 250,000 copies in its first week of release in November 2004.

Although it beat "Breakaway's" debut, "My December" fell just short of setting a debut week album sales record for Clarkson.  "Thankful," the original Idol winner's debut album, debuted at No. 1 and sold 297,000 copies during its first week of release in April 2003.

Looks like another American Idol might be going country.

Kelly Clarkson is making like Carrie Underwood, as she climbs her way up the country charts with a duet with Reba McEntire.

Because of You is the first single from Reba Duets, McEntire’s new CD scheduled for release on Sept. 18. (It also features Ronnie Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Don Henley, Carole King and Justin Timberlake.) Clarkson wrote it when she was a kid ad released the song on her last album.

The single made it to No. 2 on the Hot Pop 100 chart and No. 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Now, the tune is at No. 17 this week on Billboard, up from 21 last week, and the video is getting quite a bit of airplay, too. It features both Reba and Kelly in heavy make-up and high fashion.

Kelly Clarkson has signed with Nashville-based Starstruck Entertainment for management. Clarkson's career was previously handled by Jeff Kwatinetz at the Firm in Los Angeles.

Starstruck Entertainment is currently home to country artists Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton. Narvel Blackstock, CEO of Starstruck and McEntire's husband, will serve as Clarkson's personal manager. Trisha McClanahan, Starstruck VP of marketing, will assist with day-to-day operations.

Startstruck Entertainment was founded by Blackstock in 1988 as a full service entertainment conglomerate. McClanahan joined the company in 1990. Starstruck Management Group is the artist management arm of the corporation.

Clarkson's latest RCA album My December was released June 26. She will continue to be booked by Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles.

Sadly, the new album by Kelly Clarkson is not receiving rave reviews.

But we still love the original American Idol. Here she is performing on Good Morning America this week as she hypes up the CD, My December.

The Washington Post recently ran the following review of Kelly Clarkson's new album, My December...

The angsty and intense scorned-girl rock of "My December" comes across like a lesser version of Alannis Morissette's music circa "Jagged Little Pill" (with shades of Pat Benatar, too). It's confused and angry and anguished, featuring crunchy power chords, crashing drums, a little bit of distortion and more than a few digital studio tricks. The therapeutic, highly produced sound of cathartic release, in other words.

"I hope the ring you gave to her turns her finger green," Clarkson hisses on "Never Again." "I hope when you're in bed with her you think of me."

On "Haunted," she's back to moping: "I'm still stuck in this moment of wanting you here."

Then again: "It's over, / It's over, / It's over !" she declares on "Don't Waste Your Time."

The songs might work better if not for the fact that, as a writer, Kelly Clarkson doesn't seem to have a particularly strong sense of melody. Most of these songs don't suit her voice particularly well, and they tend to drone on, too, with a few exceptions: "Be Still," a gentle, almost jazzy lullaby whose lyrical phrasing echoes Edie Brickell, of all people; "Yeah," a sinewy soul song sassed up with R&B horns; and the quiet, contemplative "Irvine," on which Clarkson sings directly to God over an acoustic guitar.

Otherwise: Eh.

Clarkson sounds shrill throughout "My December," which is surprising, given just how gorgeous her voice can be. Consider her stirring version of "Up to the Mountain," on which she lays a soaring, emotion-drenched vocal over churchy piano and Jeff Beck's bluesy guitar licks.

Written by Patty Griffin and performed by Clarkson this year on American Idol, the song is a stunner, falling squarely in the young singer's sweet spot.

Unfortunately, while the live performance was released as a charity single, it's not included on "My December."

It's admirable - laudable, even - that Clarkson wanted to take control of her artistry, but she's a much better singer than songwriter. No shame in that, but maybe the next time she wants to express herself, in her own words, she might consider blogging about her feelings.

Kelly Clarkson once suffered from bulimia.

The American Idol winner came out with the eating disorder in an interview with CosmoGirl. Clarkson said it developed in high school after she missed out on a role in a musical.

"I thought if I came back and I was cuter and thinner - then I'll get the role."

Kelly joins another past contestant, Katharine McPhee, as someone who has struggled with bulimia, during which you binge on a meal and then vomit it up afterwards. Clarkson's condition lasted for for six months until friends discovered her secret and begged her to get help.

"One of my guy friends caught on to it, and I just felt so ashamed and embarrassed. I literally went cold turkey and snapped out of it," Clarkson said.

Since beating the eating disorder, the singer vowed to be more positive about her body and promote healthy eating to her fans.

"I've got a butt, I'm Greek - I can't help that. And I think it's good for people to see normal. I love food far too much!"

Amen, Kelly. We love you just the way you are.

This is far from a good sign for Kelly Clarkson and her fans: her summer tour has been re-scheduled.

"Plans for Kelly Clarkson's summer tour have been shelved for now as the singer and her team re-evaluate her show's size and scope – a decision made even more difficult by the impending release of her album, My December," Paul Freundlich said in a statement.

Similarly, LiveNation CEO Michael Rapino admitted: "[T]icket sales have not been what we anticipated and we came to the realization that we had bit off more than we could chew."

Fortunately, ticket holders can get refunds at the point of purchase and will be notified of future concert dates once they are scheduled. But this isn't what Clarkson and her followers wish to hear. She can't sell out a stadium?!?

The new dates may well take place at smaller venues than originally planned.

Gregg Perloff, CEO of Another Planet Entertainment, said: "The day when [Kelly] will play in sold-out arenas is, no doubt, coming, but for now her fans should look forward to seeing her in a more intimate concert environment."

This has been a tumultuous week for the 2002 American Idol winner, who on Tuesday parted with her manager, Jeff Kwatinetz of the Los Angeles-based company The Firm.

My December – the first album she co-produced and wrote entirely – is set for release June 25, but it has already made headlines, thanks to a well-publicized clash between Clarkson and her label chief, Clive Davis.

Among other things, Clarkson complained that label execs asked her to cover a Lindsay Lohan song.

Kelly Clarkson has parted ways with her manager, Jeff Kwatinetz of the Los Angeles-based company The Firm, People magazine reports.

A spokesperson for The Firm says, "Kelly Clarkson is an enormously talented artist. We are pleased to have served as her managers during her well-deserved rise to stardom and are proud of the role we played in backing her creative choices.

"We believed in Kelly from the day we met her and believe in her now. We have only the best wishes and hopes for her in the future."

The news of changes in Clarkson's team comes as she prepares for the June 26 release of her new album, My December – the first album she co-produced and wrote entirely.

Meanwhile, the industry has been buzzing about turmoil between the singer and RCA chief Clive Davis, who reportedly voiced concerns that My December didn't have a guaranteed radio hit.

Kwantinetz recently defended Clarkson, telling Entertainment Weekly: "In a time when record labels are under increased economic pressures, they get nervous when a big-selling artist like Kelly wants to take risks and evolve. The pressure they put on this young woman to compromise herself and do another version of the same record, I've never witnessed in my career.''

Even Simon Cowell weighed in, defending Clarkson for her artistic integrity and noting of My December: "It's not as commercial as her last record, but any Kelly Clarkson record at the moment is a pretty good record compared to the competition because she's an incredible artist."

Clarkson's first single from My December, "Never Again," peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard charts, a disappointment after Clarkson's No. 1 smash, 2004's "Since U Been Gone."

Sources at RCA say that, despite reports, the label plans to support Clarkson's album release and nationwide summer tour, which begins July 11. "I'm really proud of this album," Clarkson tells People. "My previous albums are great albums. But this one is very intimate."

We know Kelly Clarkson is sexy.

But how does she stack up against another famous beauty in the same outfit?

Decide for yourself as the original American Idol and Private Practice star Kate Walsh wore the same Monique Lhuillier bubble dress on different occasions recently.

They both look good. Who looks better, readers?