Kelly Clarkson Hammered (but still amazing)

This is old, but it's a slow news day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjdrc11an9E

Tidbits and Summaries

Regarding TBA:

* Fifty songs were written.

* The producer of the album is David Kahne (The Strokes, The Bangles).

* Twenty-four songs have been mixed by Andy Wallace, who has had a successful run as a producer/mixer working with acts such as Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, blink-182, Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, System of a Down, as well as many others. He also worked on the highly-anticipated new Guns N' Roses album.

* Legendary punk bassist Mike Watt played on six tracks for Kelly's album.* David Kahne confirmed that he produced "Maybe", "Yeah", and "Anymore", which Kelly performed on her last tour.

* Kelly will debut a new SONG (not necessarily the single) on February 18th at the NASCAR pre-race concert.

* Besides the three songs previewed on tour, Kelly has also mentioned titles of "Haunted" and "Get Away" as well as "Irvine" which was written on tour in California during "the lowest point in my life."

* The following titles were listed on the BMI music publishing site. They were written by Kelly along with her guitarist Jimmy Messer, and a writer named Dwight Baker: "Can I Have A Kiss", "Hole", "How I Feel", "Judas", "This Perfect Day."

* In a recent fanclub interview, Kelly talked about her influences on the new album, naming singer/songwriters Ray LaMontagne and Patty Griffin.

* From a Blender interview: "The soft songs will be softer and the hard songs will be harder. Who the hell wants to make the same record? That's boring. It's the fricken music industry."

* No single has been announced although rumors are swirling around songs called "Couldn't Stop" and "Continuous". Take these with a big grain of salt, however as they're probably illegitamate.

* No release date has been annouced. Reports have said February, while other more recent and more official have said "late spring/early summer" as well as "around midyear."

* RCA most likely wants to focus on the promotion and release of Katharine McPhee's album, coming out January 30th. Avril Lavigne's album is coming out at the beginning of April as well so Kelly's will most likely be after that as they don't want competition between the two.

Nothing really new here, but it's a nice summary of things we know so far. Regarding the picutre, I'm not really feeling what she's wearing, but I think she looks great even without makeup. Sorry for the watermarks.

Source: http://aikenforums.com/index.php?showtopic=475269

Mixed Up

There's a rumor out there that Andy Wallace has mixed a total of twenty-four tracks for Kelly's new (still nameless) album. Personally I would love to have a double CD, but would the average consumer be willing to pay the extra cost?

User "DJ General" who posted rumors about Kelly's upcoming album has been outted as being a fifteen-year-old with nothing better to do with his life than lie to people on message boards.

Quote from David Kahne:

"we did record All I Know. I don't know if Kelly will use it right away,but I'm sure it'll be out someday. There are so many great songsthat we recorded. Kelly is amazing. You won't be disappointed, nomatter what songs she decides to put out first."

It doesn't really sound very promising that "All I Know" will be on TBA, but I would like it to be simply due to the fact that I think it would be a nice album title... even though it's not my favorite of her new songs.

Screw money, Kelly wants exposure!

Kelly Clarkson says she’s working with NASCAR for free because “I have enough money”

International superstar and original American Idol Kelly Clarkson will make appearances for NASCAR and its foundation this racing season, but she’ll do so for free.

“I got on board, not even for a big paycheck or anything, just to help out. Just have fun and do some charity work with them,” she tells Access Hollywood.

Maria Menounos, fresh off of ignoring and asking obnoxious questions of Golden Globe winner America Ferrera, was appalled at that answer, and asked Kelly, “No paycheck?” Kelly said, “People do stuff for money all the time. I have enough money. It’s all about giving back as well.”

She’ll be “the official spokesperson for the fourth annual NASCAR Day on May 18, a day when fans of the sport are encouraged to make a charitable donation of $5 to the NASCAR Foundation in exchange for a commemorative lapel pin,” E! Online reports. That represents “the biggest and most comprehensive partnership the motorsports organization has ever forged with a recording artist.” Among other things, she will “[headline] the Nextel Tribute to America concert before the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18.”

Source: http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/american_idol/2007_Jan_25_kelly_nascar

Access Kelly

Yesterday, an interview with Kelly aired on Access Hollywood. Not really any new information, but if you missed it someone was nice enough to upload it to YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEfk6f0b7ew

Top Albums of 2007

ETalk Daily listed the top upcoming albums for the year. Guess who's number one?

7. Aracade Fire
6. Coldplay
5. Sum 41
4. Maroon 5
3. Britney
2. Avril
1. Kelly Clarkson

"Speaking of Since U Been Gone, nothing will top this years release of Kelly Clarkson's 3rd disk. She's been on the rise since her debut, selling 3 million copies and an astounding 11 million with the next. Look for that album to outshadow all others when it hits shelves in early 07."

Source: etalk.ctvdigital.com/etalk/

Official News! (or lack of news...)

Except that we will be finished mixing soon, and it's going amazingly well. There's no single chosen, and no firm album sequence. No album title, or release date.

That's all going to be decided by Kelly down the line after all the songs are finished. I can tell you that it's anincredible album, great songs that Kelly has written, and pure emotion pouring out.

She really blew my mind,with her ability to express so many different emotions so perfectly. I'm sure your wait will be rewarded with analbum you'll love. And I think it's great how Kelly's fans are so loyal and have so much faith in her. It's faithwell placed.

cheers,
david

This is an official statement, which is great! But... it's basically a statement saying there's no real word on anything.

Source: http://p101.ezboard.com/fkellyclarksonexpressfrm7.showMessageRange?topicID=12385.topic&start=201&stop=220

Rumors, rumors (followed, followed)

I'm just going to list them:

1. Kelly's album has been pushed back to keep Kat McPhee's new CD from interfering with sales (um... really?)
2. It's been pushed back to avoid battling Avril's new CD
3. "Couldn't Stop" was scrapped - if it ever existed in the first place
4. The new single will be titled "Continuous"

Take all these things with a grain of salt.

Source: various message boards

Gentlemen, start your engines!

Kelly races into NASCAR deal

Chris may have a budding association with the bull riders, but Kelly Clarkson's becoming the NASCAR queen for 2007.

In a "landmark collaboration," Kelly "will be integrated into all aspects of NASCAR." Now that sounds ominously vague -- will she be dropping the checkered flag? Serving on Dale Jr.'s pit crew? But rest assured, her integration consists mainly of "an at-track concert, TV spot, charitable endeavors and NASCAR's Awards Dinner."

"Anybody who knows me knows I'm a race fan and love NASCAR," Kelly is quoted, striking a harmonious note. "I look forward to hanging out with the fans, drivers and the entire NASCAR community."

She'll start by headlining a pre-Daytona 500 Fox special Feb. 18, the NEXTEL Tribute to America. (Previous musical guests have included Clint Black, Five for Fighting, and Brian Wilson, who sang Good Vibrations ... instead of the clearly more appropriate Shut Down or 409.) Then she'll film a 30-second NASCAR commercial that will include a new song from her next album ("due mid-year," according to the release).

She'll be spokesperson and ambassador for the fourth annual NASCAR Day May 18, appearing in another ad to promote the occasion (which may yet become a national holiday). And she'll perform at NASCAR's 27th annual Champions Banquet in New York Dec. 3, which will be aired live on ESPN.

This isn't Kelly's first venture into the (bewilderingly to me) vastly popular world of NASCAR. My dad loves it, but I personally get bored of watching cars drive around in circles for hours. I don't really care, though - I'll watch the whole Daytona 500 if I get to see even a mini Kelly concert. I'm a little sad about the "mid-year" release comment, though. I at least want an album or single name!

Source: http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2007/01/kelly_races_int.html

Timber!

MUSICAL HIT MAN
January 13, 2007

He produced some of 2006's biggest hits, but Timbaland's Grammy Award nominations are actually for best pop collaboration with vocals for Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" and best dance recording for Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack." He also got a nod for his production work on Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds," which is up for album of the year.

Still, Timbaland doesn't mind being passed over in the producer of the year category. "It's Rick Rubin's time," he says. "I never really realized how much he's done. But he's got 12 nominees on the list, from Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hats off."

Describing his 2006 sound as global, the body-building producer says that he has drawn his inspiration from "India to China. I'm outside of the box." Last year also saw the blooming of his collaboration with studio right-hand man Nate "Danja" Hills.

"My style is totally different so nobody can adapt to what I do," Timbaland says. "But I brought him in and showed him how I work, and he caught on pretty quickly."

Hills adds, "When we come to the studio neither of us knows what we're about to do. We might have a million ideas floating around. We just go back and forth. Once we find one we love, we just pile a bunch of stuff on top of it. It becomes a jam session.

"When Timbaland hits the road this month with Timberlake, he will continue with his busy production slate via a mobile studio on the tour bus while Hills holds down the fort in Virginia Beach, Va. He is also putting the finishing touches on a star-studded new solo album, expected this spring via his Mosley Music imprint through Interscope.

But for now Timbaland seems most enthused about working with two decidedly non-R&B acts—Kelly Clarkson and Coldplay.

"It takes a lot to really excite me," he says. "But I am excited about Coldplay." ••••

—Hillary Crosley

Here's hoping Kelly's going to work with him on his album and not the other way around. Honestly, I don't want Kelly to be one of those female pop artists that has a rapper in at least one track. Come on, Kelly - don't be stereotypical.

Source: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003528301

Kelly plays 'Kelly' on Reba

Kelly guest-starred in last Sunday's episode of Reba on the CW. The episode is available online (if you know the right place to look). Overall, I found it entertaining... well, as entertaining as Reba can be. The Kelly parts were great - I'll go out on a limb and say that Kelly was born to play herself.

Couldn't Stop

The currennt buzz in the community is all about the new single. The rumor, as posted by "DJ General" on the Pulse Music Board, is that it could possibly be titled "Couldn't Stop." He also posted, however, that he only heard a 1:47 clip and is unsure of the actual title. He claims to work for a radio station that has "close ties with Kelly" and that the lyrical quality of the clip is "extreme." That's not really a big surprise, though. We'll see if this actually ends up being the first single soon (hopefully).

In later posts, he claims these are some of the lyrics:

I saw you standing there (with that look on your face)

You were ready (I had to go)

I questioned you (surprise, no answer)

Nothing is as easy as it seems

Source: http://pulsemusic.proboards48.com/index.cgi?board=news&action=display&thread=1151087430&page=63

Avenue Q

I've only seen one play on Broadway, and let me tell ya - if I saw Kelly there I couldn't focus on the production. Apparently, she recently saw Avenue Q (on Monday, I believe) with some of her friends and family. I think she looks rather good for her lack of make-up.

Photo courtesy of www.broadway.com

Kelly-tastic

I've decided to chronicle the events leading up to Kelly Clarkson's third (and as of yet untitled) album for the fun of it. And because I'm a KC nerd. I'm doing this mainly for myself and for fun, but if someone out there actually learns something from reading my blog or enjoys it, then great!