Kelly Clarkson and the "Star" effect
In 2002 (I believe), a little known performer from a small town in Texas burst onto the scene in a new television show which is now a mammoth enterprise known as American Idol. Her name was Kelly Clarkson. Kelly was a little heavier than your average up and coming starlet but her voice was pure gold. Everytime she took the stage, it was plainly evident that this girl had the voice to be a star.
And while her first CD, Thankful, debuted at number one, it was widely panned by the "cool kids" as crap and made American Idol into a running joke. Kelly's first album was far from radio "cool", but it was extremely well done. I can recall listening to that CD two or three times on the way down to my mother-in-law's house and being more impressed each time through. It didn't fly with the younger generation though, and the "buzz" surrounding the album quickly fizzled.
Then she went quiet for about a year. You stopped hearing her name so much on the TV show as Clay Aiken was making a name for himself. She released another song, "Breakaway", for Disney's Princess Diaries (or was it the second one?) The song fit perfectly with the first CD and masked the storm that was to come.
Kelly's second CD, "Breakaway", was unleashed on the music world in 2004. While the title track was anything but a break from her first CD, the other tracks were incredibly dark and filled with everything her first album was not - rock guitar tracks, screaming enraged vocals, and a deep sense of mood. Anyone who listens to the CD can tell that she was clearly trying to turn the page in her career.
Then she shows up at the VMA's in bare feet (sort of weird) and the crowd - the SAME crowd that PANNED her two years before - LOVED her, screamed her name. Her bleached hair, washed out appearance and new thin physical appearance only solidified her stance as a "pop star". When asked about American Idol, she confirmed forever the status of a pop star by dodging the question instead of paying tribute to her beginnings. And behold, the awards flooded in. VMA's, Grammy's, you name it.
And I say that this is all a very sad commentary on American pop music. Kelly's first album was no less interesting from a musical persepctive than her second album. But her change in appearance to something "weird", her disregard for the people who launched her career and her new deep moody music all played a much bigger part in her sudden rise to popularity than she is willing to admit.
I don't blame her for it. In fact, I admit myself to enjoying her second CD more than her first. I am a victim myself to the strange upside down world of popular music where image and flash come first and real music only when absolutely necessary.
And while her first CD, Thankful, debuted at number one, it was widely panned by the "cool kids" as crap and made American Idol into a running joke. Kelly's first album was far from radio "cool", but it was extremely well done. I can recall listening to that CD two or three times on the way down to my mother-in-law's house and being more impressed each time through. It didn't fly with the younger generation though, and the "buzz" surrounding the album quickly fizzled.
Then she went quiet for about a year. You stopped hearing her name so much on the TV show as Clay Aiken was making a name for himself. She released another song, "Breakaway", for Disney's Princess Diaries (or was it the second one?) The song fit perfectly with the first CD and masked the storm that was to come.
Kelly's second CD, "Breakaway", was unleashed on the music world in 2004. While the title track was anything but a break from her first CD, the other tracks were incredibly dark and filled with everything her first album was not - rock guitar tracks, screaming enraged vocals, and a deep sense of mood. Anyone who listens to the CD can tell that she was clearly trying to turn the page in her career.
Then she shows up at the VMA's in bare feet (sort of weird) and the crowd - the SAME crowd that PANNED her two years before - LOVED her, screamed her name. Her bleached hair, washed out appearance and new thin physical appearance only solidified her stance as a "pop star". When asked about American Idol, she confirmed forever the status of a pop star by dodging the question instead of paying tribute to her beginnings. And behold, the awards flooded in. VMA's, Grammy's, you name it.
And I say that this is all a very sad commentary on American pop music. Kelly's first album was no less interesting from a musical persepctive than her second album. But her change in appearance to something "weird", her disregard for the people who launched her career and her new deep moody music all played a much bigger part in her sudden rise to popularity than she is willing to admit.
I don't blame her for it. In fact, I admit myself to enjoying her second CD more than her first. I am a victim myself to the strange upside down world of popular music where image and flash come first and real music only when absolutely necessary.
posted by Jason at
4:47 AM
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