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Miss
Independent- Kelly Clarkson
Hers is a classic rags-to-riches, obscurity–to-global-fame fairy tale that seems almost too good to be true, except it isn’t. With a voice of diva proportions, the first American Idol Kelly Clarkson is still an everyday Texan gal who fortunately hasn’t become too big headed to forget her humble beginnings. For someone who has dreamt of making it big, Kelly’s rise to stardom seems almost pre-destined. Because her LA apartment burnt down the day she moved in, she was forced to go back home where she then took part in the American Idol, and eventually won. Here in Singapore recently to promote her debut album Thankful, Kelly performed at an exclusive showcase at Embassy on Sep 18 and proved to UrbanWire that there is so much more to worship than those lungs. Please click
here for exclusive video footage of her cosy roundtable interview
with us and other media. Crowd Pleaser Crowd Pleaser Her debut album Thankful sold 279,000 copies in America its first week, topping the Billboard charts. The winner of this year’s “Choice Music Female Artist” award at the 2003 Teen Choice Awards also co-wrote her latest single “Miss Independent” with sultry pop sensation Christina Aguilera.
And what better way to witness ‘Miss Independent’ in action than to be at her showcase at Embassy on Sep 18 where a gamut of lucky fans feasted their eyes on Kelly? Not only did her music set everyone grooving, even fans who were far away from the stage could feel her breath-taking stage presence during the 5-number showcase. The only regret was that it lasted barely 30 minutes and understandably many fans were disappointed. “I was quite disappointed because of the short duration, but overall it was good because it’s nice to see Kelly really up close,” said Md. Hafiz Faiz, 16, a secondary school student. The fan had nothing but praise for her, “[The performance] was really good because I enjoy Kelly’s strong character of voice.”
Suffice to say, once Kelly took to the stage, the crowd just went wild and you could hear wolf whistles and screams, truly fanfare befitting the American Idol. Nothing can beat the real aural experience, or so they say and this holds true for hearing Kelly Clarkson live. “I think it was great, the fans were very supportive, we had a lot of fun,” says Phil Lin, 16, a secondary school student. Whatever praise she’d received in reviews and magazine profiles were reinforced once Kelly sang with that God-sent voice. Even Simon Cowell, judge of American Idol, infamous for his pointed controversial criticisms, praised her for each of her performances in American Idol, a point Kelly herself recalls clearly. “America is not known for nice singers, it is known for great singers, and you are one of them, congratulations,” Simon had said to Kelly after her “Natural Woman” performance, as any Singaporean who had watched the American Idol contest on the Internet would tell you. Acting vs singing “I really enjoy [the] stage, because it’s live and I perform better for some reason in front of people,” says Kelly, in an exclusive interview at the Fullerton Hotel. Before making it big on American Idol, the food-loving sunshine gal already had her hand in the music scene: “I was working as a backup vocalist and did a lot of stuff behind the scenes before even American Idol.” And did you know that Kelly was also an extra on the TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch? Since then, she has also made a movie musical with fellow American Idol contestant Justin Guarini. From Justin to Kelly was her first serious foray into movie acting but unfortunately it didn’t quite bring in the moo-lah at the box office. Kelly, however, is not in the least perturbed, “It did exactly what it was supposed to do, it was supposed to be fun for kids, it wasn’t supposed to be Shawshank Redemption or Minority Report, it wasn’t that serious. It was supposed to be a lot of fun for the American Idol viewers to go see,” quips the amiable star.
And the looming question on everyone’s mind:
Is Kelly with Justin Guarini, former American Idol contestant and her
rumoured boyfriend? Kelly claims that they are good friends but she
does have an idea on who her ideal guy would be like. “I don’t
like the boyish guys, I don’t do the boyish look and the pretty
boy thing, I do the more like ruffy scruffy kind of guy,” explains
Kelly.
The diva-like attitude so apparent according to The Straits Times Life! reporter who interviewed her was nowhere in sight. Instead, Kelly seems to constantly be aware of her humble beginnings and finds it hard to get accustomed to the overnight fame. “Actually everything happened so fast [because] the show (American Idol) blew up in America so literally, one day no one knew me and the other day, everyone did,” she says. When quizzed on whether fame has changed her or her outlook of life, she gives a sincere answer, “I act like myself as I do around with my friends and family, I don’t really change anything.” “Things are going pretty well, can’t complain. Yeah, I just found out the cd’s right at double platinum, almost there, got 2 number 1 singles and no. 1 album. Doing fine, so I’m really thankful, I thank God every night for stuff that’s happening to me.” Kelly is ambitious and she doesn’t apologise for that. In fact, she’s set her sights on Broadway. She loves “the whole lot like Judy Garland, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, how they all did that”. Musing that “I don’t think you have to wait till you’re 30-something to do Broadway,” she adds that she hopes to write more too. “I write, I’m a big writer,” says Kelly. Parting shot She can’t say the same for our local cuisine because she hadn’t tried any. She has only got to eat steak, which is apparently one of her favourite food. “I love spicy food … but I’m singing a lot too so I’ll probably try it the last day I’m here,” adds Kelly. With her debut album garnering great success since its release, Kelly has plans for a second album soon, “I’m always writing so I’ve already got my material for my 2nd album. I did 2 tours in the States. I’m going to do a world wide tour early next year starting January.” Her second album will contain a variety of different styles, something that Kelly is known for. Her versatility is what makes her such a great singer. Throw her a jazz or blues piece and she can sing it with as much gusto. The next album however is “definitely going to have rock alternative”. “American Idol was just a crash course [of how the] industry was and I learnt everything about the media, about how the industry works and how the industry is more political than actual politics,” she says. It is probably this self-confidence that appears arrogant and brash, rubbing some journalists the wrong way. Kelly explains, “I do have a very strong character not because I think I’m the best thing on the planet, [but] just because I have confidence in myself and my talent and I work my butt off for it.” At the end of the day, the original American Idol is nothing short of a simple 21-year old girl with down-to-earth wishes - it isn’t tough to make her happy, “What makes me happy is when I get to go home. When I get to go home and hang out with my family and friends and stuff and be normal.” [top^]All photos taken by reporter unless otherwise stated. |
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Watching
her on TV, we never imagined Kelly Clarkson would come by Singapore,
almost half way round the world, but this jovial Texan surprises us
by popping by for a week and ‘wows’ us with a showcase at
Embassy and an autograph session at Paragon. We’re thankful ourselves
for her arrival and impressive vocal range (4-octave, we hear). 
MTV
VJ Utt played host and before Kelly came up on stage, in order to rev
up the crowd, he called 5 people [including UrbanWire editor 
Every bit the adept stage performer, this humble gal from Burleson,
Texas, was in her high school band and also performed in many of her
school’s dramas. 
“Nothing’s
a touchy subject with me,” adds Kelly, when first posed the question
about the movie being a flop. She confidently pronounces that she didn’t
do the movie to win an 
