Beautiful Disaster

Kelly Clarkson has fired her manager Jeff Kwatinetz (Sony BMG) in the wake of bad publicity her upcoming album, My December, has received. From the fued with Clive Davis, to the poorly planned, under-selling tour (come on, she has enough fans, but she is not an arena-style artist, especially not with this new slate of material) and the poor response from the critics.

I've listened to the album, and, while it is far from being bad, it definitely is a grower. Which probably means it won't hold up too well in the long run. It's short on radio-friendly fare and high on darker themed material. And nary a hook. The songs are as angry as Alanis and her voice often reminds me of Sheryl Crow, but at least both of those artists have catchier songs. Chalk it up to growing pains, as she's attempting to come into her own as a song-writer. The problem with that is most people are not as forgiving as her hard-core fans (yes, I'm one) and less likely to give it a second listen.

I also have to question her release strategy. Not so much with the timing of the album, but with the single choices. She has made it clear that Sober is her favourite track, but releasing it as the second single is not the wisest decision. With Never Again stalling at radio, it would be better to attempt a more upbeat track now that summer is here. She's holding off on that, though, and releasing the catchier, lighter How I Feel (which, so far, is my favourite track) as the third single.

All hope is not lost, though. With this recent firing of her manager, there are signs that Kelly may be rethinking everything. It's not too late to shelf the album and reconsider some of the tracks. For what it's worth, I applaud Kelly for taking a stand for herself and her music, demanding she be taken serious as an artist and a songwriter. I think Clive Davis was right to express concern, though. Ultimately, she can probably survive if this album does tank, but it'd be better if she could avoid such a disaster.