The magazine also reports that she fought with her label and representatives over her Idol Gives Back performance. "My label wanted me to sing 'Never Again,' and I was like, to promote yourself on a charity event is beyond crass. People are starving and dying and I'm up there singing some bitter pop song? And believe me, everyone wanted me to sing it. Because they are jaded and they have no soul. Imagine sitting in a room full of people totally against you. Can't they hear themselves speaking? Capitalize on AIDS? Are you kidding? Insulting an entire nation of people? I just refused."

http://www.usmagazine.com/kelly_clarkson_fires_manager

I'm adding Kelly to my "Strong Woman Who Speak their Minds" club, lol.  I love her for standing her ground!   Hearts win over corporate greed . . . Kelly totally rocks!

Hi Cobaby and Katfans,

I'd like to bump this thread with what I've written on my space about Kelly Clarkson. You should understand, I fell for her before I fell for Kat. Now that we're on the same page, may I share with you all my review, in case you haven't gone to my space yet.  - Mattsie http://www.myspace.com/mattsie2

Review:  Kelly Clarkson singing Tony Bennett's Because of You
Tony Bennett celebrates 80th Birthday with his music, Nov 9th, 2006, Kodak Theater, CA.    -- A Tribute co-hosted by Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, and Bruce Willis

Forgive the unstable parts of the video clip. Thank you for taking it for the world to see. Amateur video captures the amazing Kelly Clarkson singing a jazzy arrangement of "Tony Bennett's Because of You" during Tony Bennett's 80th Birthday (2006). Wow!! I'm in love and speechless. Who wouldn't be after hearing a song like this with a lovely voice like that? Kelly's voice has only matured more for the better in the past 5 years since winning the first american idol title. She can sing anything - old and new, standards and rock - and she would own it, every time, with magnificence and class this time around.

Where others choose and remain mainstream, Kelly's vocal exploration in different genres is a testament of her commitment to her musical growth as she evolves into one of the best and greatest singers we would ever know in our lifetime. She is currently positioned at a category where both musicians and listeners, honed and amateurs alike, would agree that she is "the voice of this generation".

Kelly's voice is strong, clear and controlled with a pleasing tone and certain charm to it. When I listen to her songs, I don't only hear her voice, I feel her love or her pain, and the prospect of that feeling staying with you she manages to ensure you're taken up so high, as when whirlwind picks up a ball of grass, without ever having to worry about landing at all long after the song is sung. Then, looking for words to describe what your true feeling is after hearing Kelly sing this song or any ballad she would sing, you would just want to cry, and it damn feels good.

Saying that is really an understatement of what Kelly is truly capable of for my respect of her talent has concurrently grown with her. I would classify Kelly as the singer's singer. She sings better 'live' and that's because of the almost tangible soulful emotion she puts into her songs - you could virtually taste it in your mouth- but where it really leads is to your heart and mind. And, she would interpret covers as if you've only heard it for the first time. Now, that's marvelous! - Mattsie

"Kelly could jump from one singing style to another and she would own any song she sings - be it pop, rock, country, blues, jazz, standard or broadway. Kelly is underrated. She comes to us at a time when the old greats have almost been gone and yet we still are kind of hooked-and-dreaming-for-their-comeback not realizing that Kelly is the REAL DEAL!" - Mattsie

This is my YouTube comment on Kelly's performance of "Why Haven't I Heard From You"

The world is full of great music written by great songwriters and performed by great singers that have come and gone and some of those that are still with us. We could utilize these great jazz-standards to ressurrect a great culture in music. There is a market for these style of music - among old and young alike. I have no doubt.

Surely, Kelly as a kid from Texas was schooled in the crooning-musical-opera-ish style of music by people who discovered her talent the first time. Then to market her gift she had to venture on her versatility to sing other genres and do other things including songwriting which I admire greatly. No matter what Kelly tries from hereon, I believe she will sell it. But I think as a passionate singer, Kelly would linger longer in the music business than branching out into other lucrative business projects. I am satisfied with her voice and her singing and even in her songwriting. Many singers have written songs in their career, but many great singers have sung great songs written by others who could not even sing. Some of the best musicals have been written by non-singers.

There is a great need for great singers to interpret best for us those great songs we have known from childhood. For us who have lived the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and the present --4  to 5 decades of listening to music -- we sort of know what we are talking about. I have no problem going along with Kelly's and/or kat's current music, but I really believe Katharine and Kelly Clarkson could somehow form an alliance (much like collaboration) to ressurrect the jazz-standards singing style in the course of their young musical career because they are the most naturally-gifted ones in this genre today. If they could only realize that they possess such a beautiful voice and tone that's so needed to be used in this genre, they could storm the music industry like crazy because many will follow, I'm sure. Then those of us who can't dig other types of music and those who have just been mere spectators of what other cynics or critics call the nodepth-nosubstance-kind of singing (that we often see rise on the charts for no great reason)  would rise up from our slumbers inspired and venerated, and we could live a lot much longer perhaps. Thanks.

Both KC and KM would pose as a competitor for each other and there would not be an alliance between them personally. But what I had initially meant was for them to sort of start off a certain trend towards singing the standards, supporting each other positively-- like what Rod Stewart had said that "Katharine was born to sing the standards" --kind of support. An example could be --for them to do an advertisement singing together those best loved songs we knew from before -- in a duet maybe, like what you have suggested. Wouldn't it be lovely? Thanks.

K.T. Turnstall is a terrific talent. I am sure she is grateful to Kat for popularizing her song on such a big stage, but, I can understand her need to separate herself from other talents and concentrate on her music and her career.

Having said that, Kat does not need anyone to lean on. She has an exquisite voice and, once again quoting Rod Stewart, "she was born to sing ballads." I just feel that with her AI connection the better fit for a duet or two would be Kelly Clarkson. If it does not happen, at least Kat should give her fans the album we know that she has in her. Some old standards and some new ones. I do believe David Foster recognizes this and wil steer Kat in the right direction.

I can't tell you how much I look forward to the fruits of that collaberation. I truly believe this next album will be one for the ages.

Feb 10, 2008 CBS - 50th Grammys

Kelly Clarkson is nominated for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

Look Looney, your remark is not funny, but if you're trying to be funny, I'll excuse you, but if you're serious, I will have to write a long reply to you. Otherwise, let's just forget about it.

To many people, "Because of You" is a beautiful song and it is selling all over the world. How could you not like Kelly's Because of You?

For your information, Because of You is the 24th annual ASCAP' Pop Music Songwriting Awardee of - Song of The Year in 2007 tied with Mary J. Blige's Be Without You. ASCAP is American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. It is a prestigious society with about 310,000 members. Kelly is a singer-songwriter and she got recognized for her songwriting of Because of You. 

A note on Whitney - she tried the R&B genre and she took her 6th grammy in 2000 for It's Not Right But It's Okay. All of her 5 grammy's were from the pop genre. Whitney tried to bridge the gap between two cultures. She knew what was coming.

All of the other singers you mentioned are great and I happen to like them too. I even have their records as well.  But times have changed.  I'm just 47 years old, but I have heard quite a lot of music from my grandparents collection down to my nephew's collection. And, I'm happy to say that although my favorites are the eras of Garland, Fitzgerald, Streisand, and Houston, I am a McPhee and Clarkson fan as well.

I see Katharine's versatility but something has yet to be done different to her approach in her music and she's going to come around with a better album. Her getting into the movies will also open another door for her success. I know the best is yet to come for Katharine.

In fact, I see Katharine and Kelly sharing the same old soul in their musical ability. Brugo and I are agreed on that. Listen to Kelly's cover of Tony Bennett's Because of you. Don't mind the shaky video, just listen to the audio.