spotlight kelly clarkson


Music is such a powerful force, especially when you are young. I don’t know what my life would have been like without our music education in school. What was it like growing up in Texas, how did music there influence you? Oh man, that is so true. That’s why we’ve got to


keep those electives in school, it’s so important. I grew up loving gospel and used to sing it growing up, but really all of my favorite singers were bad-asses, man. They were all huge singers, even if it was a man; everyone from Prince to Steven Tyler to Bono to Andrea Bocelli. I loved Pavarotti and opera too, I studied classical music growing up. It’s where I grew to love big singers, how they could move you with their sound and the resonance, it was all pretty amazing to me. It’s something that is kind of unique in some ways to your generation, the exposure from such an early age to so many different genres, driven by internet access. It’s pretty amazing how that has changed, even when compared to my generation. I completely agree, because I learned to love Nirvana, just as much as I loved Whitney and I think that’s why I do love so many different styles. I love it now, we have a sixteen-year-old and a ten-year- old and they are exposed to so much more music, just because of streaming. They’ll put on Pandora or whatever, something they like and other music pops up that they might not have chosen and I do think that’s pretty cool. They get introduced to music that they maybe wouldn’t have heard before. American Idol changed everything for you I’m sure. When you look back on that experience, if you could tell yourself something around handling it all, what might it be? You know what, not even American Idol, just


in general in life—even if I had been a cocktail waitress for the rest of my life—I would tell myself earlier on to just let go of all the things you cannot control. Everything around me was so chaotic. To throw a 19-year-old, well actually I was 20 when I won, to put a 20-year-old girl in charge of a corpora- tion, actually several, running them and touring the world and having to make decisions…To be the head of all of that was a lot of pressure. I think if I had to tell myself anything, it would be to just relax and let go of control. You’ve hired people to do these certain jobs, let them do it. If they’re not, then you’ll unfortunately just have to find somebody else. I always tried to control so much of what was going on and I think that in some ways, when we do


28 RAGE monthly | NOVEMBER 2017


that we get in our own way. From the outside looking in, I’ve always admired how you’ve handled yourself. You seem so honest and real and it reflects in everything you do, it also comes across in your music. Yeah, I really just don’t know any other way to be.


I don’t think I like anyone that much to have to lie about anything. (Laughs) I think too, it’s such a big world and some people are going to like what you say and some people aren’t. It’s just that way it is. Sage words from someone so young. It’s a testament to how emotionally available you are in the moment. I wonder, when you perform, do you have a trick to get yourself into that space, or is it just a natural process? Unfortunately and fortunately for me, I am always emotional. (Laughs) Unfortunately, it can be sort of a problem sometimes in certain situations. But fortunately, it’s not really difficult for me to go in and out very quickly around emoting a song or being a vessel for the music. Even if I’m not feeling it in the moment, to extend my emotional reach. It’s not like acting though, I just kind of reach down and remember what it was like when I actually felt it. I don’t know, that’s just really never been a hard thing to do. With this record specifically, I really chose to


focus on vocals more, that’s why I only wrote four of the songs on this album. I really wanted to make this album about the sound, that was more important than anything for me. I met with a lot of other writer’s and I would make jokes like, “Man I hope you’re all depressed, because I’m not and I am not and I really want to sing a heart-wrenching ballad. “Can you write me one?” (Laughs) “Hope you are all in a shitty place, ‘cuz I’m doing great and I can’t write this song right now.” It was really so much fun to make this record, because I am in such a great place these days...Even if I couldn’t write it myself. I met and have made so many friends now, with so many remarkable writers, who are able to write from the place that I wanted to sing about. This album was striking to me because there are so many nods to different genres. It’s at the same time bluesy and jazzy, dancy with a pop


I grew up loving gospel


and used to sing it growing up, but really all of my favorite singers were


bad-asses, man. They were all huge singers, even if it


was a man: Everyone from Prince to Steven Tyler to Bono to Andrea Bocelli.”


sensibility, along with gospel and power ballads. It’s really amazing and made me think that it’s so all about you as an adult person. Wow, you know that’s almost exactly what my


mom said about it. She said to me, “This is the record I thought you’d make right off the bat.” Like this is what she thought I’d do even before, whilst telling you to shut up over and over when I was a kid in my room—it was a very small duplex apartment—this is what she thought it would sound like. (Laughs) Seriously, while saying all the while, “Can you just shut up for a minute?” Out of all those moments, she thought this was the record, especially after hearing me for so many years and the styles of music I would pick and she’d hear me sing in my room, that I was going to make in the first place. I love the image that creates in my head. What an amazing frame of reference to have with your mom. On a personal note, I wanted to say that I really do appreciate your honesty and your integrity both in your music. It really shows and I hope you know how valuable that is. I still can’t listen to your finalIdol performance without bawling. (Laughs) Oh, thank you. Hey, there is nothing better to hear


than that someone can relate to a song. I love that so much. Man, I had so much going against me for that performance, I was pregnant, all the nostalgia, my other kid running around, I was married...I didn’t stand a chance. It was such a cool bookend moment for me. Maturity changes everything and you can feel it in this album. There’s a calm, centeredness to it, even at the top of your vocal power moments, that is really wonderful. I’m hoping people are going to dig it, man.


I don’t see how they couldn’t.


Meaning of Life is available now. Watch for Clarkson’s world tour coming this year after she wraps withThe Voice. For more information about all things Clarkson, check her out at facbook. com/kellyclarkson, on twitter @kelly_clarkson, on Instagram @ kellyclarkson or her website at kellyclarkson.com.


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