Clarkson gets excited about future, ‘The Voice’
Throughout her career, Kelly Clarkson has paid homage to great divas, from Aretha Franklin to Whitney Houston. But on her new album, “Meaning of Life,” she borrows from another rock star: Michelle Obama. On the last track, “Go High,” Clarkson belts out: “When you go low I go high / I go high, I go high / When you go low I go high.” Doesn’t that sound familiar? “Yes, obviously,” Clarkson says. It’s from “the speech heard around the world.”
Clarkson, who co-wrote the song, says she was inspired by Obama’s address in July 2016 at the Democratic National Convention. “I remember seeing it on TV and just being floored,” she says. “You don’t have to be a politician to have experienced taking the high road. I think that’s a lot of us in whatever you do in life.”
Clarkson has never had any problems going high — just listen to her notes. But she’s also experienced her share of lows in the music industry. After winning the first season of “American Idol” in 2002, she was locked into a lengthy contract with RCA Records. She frequently clashed with executives there about the direction of her career. “I think a lot of artists have this story where you feel like you’re put in this box,” says Clarkson, who has sold more than 25 million albums. “I presented a certain path that they needed to fulfill some profit. Whatever. It’s just not every artist that had an arranged marriage right off the bat.”
“Meaning of Life,” which arrives on Oct. 27, is the album Clarkson always wanted to make. She says her new label, Atlantic Records, gave her the creative freedom she’s been craving. While her previous efforts veered more toward pop or pop rock, “Meaning of Life” offers a soulful vibe, in line with the artists she listened to growing up as the daughter of a single mom in Texas.
Clarkson’s songs have always been synonymous with girl power, from “Miss Independent” to “Stronger,” which is quoted in Hillary Clinton’s memoir, “What Happened.” “It was pretty exciting,” Clarkson says. “I found out my name was in Hillary Clinton’s book on Twitter.” One of her new songs, “Whole Lotta Woman,” sounds like a bookend to Franklin’s “Respect.” “I grew up loving those songs, just to remind yourself how badass we are individually,” Clarkson says.
Clarkson was only 20 when she won “American Idol,” the show that changed TV and the idea of fame for the YouTube generation.
After she won, there were questions about her commercial prospects. Clarkson recalls that
RCA executives were originally cold toward “Miss Independent,” the song that kicked off her post-“Idol” career. “I had to cry to get that song not only on my record but as the first single,” she says. “The only reason
I got it as the first single was because it tested well. Everybody was like, ‘That can’t be. There are too many guitars. That’s not really your sound. You’re the next Whitney Houston.’” That’s not how she saw herself: “I love Whitney Houston, but I don’t want to make those records.”
After the song became a hit, she was shocked that the naysayers acted like they had supported her all along. “That first single for me was a very damaging time for my psyche,” Clarkson says.
“It was like, wow. So people just lie.”
In 2004, Clive Davis took over RCA, and Clarkson thought maybe things would get better. Her feuds with the mogul have been documented in connection with the release of her 2007 album “My December,” which Davis tried to bury. But Clarkson reveals that the conflict started before that. When she played “Because of You” for him to consider for her second album, 2004’s “Breakaway,” Davis wasn’t impressed.
After her contract expired, Clarkson knew that she needed a fresh start. She signed with Atlantic even though it was the first and only label she met with because of a closeness she felt to co-heads
Craig Kallman and Julie Greenwald.
Clarkson’s other gig will be joining NBC’s
“The Voice” in the spring. I’m not going to lie: I’m stoked about pushing the red button.”