Why Kelly Clarkson Rocks

Hello. And thank you for joining me for another installment of "Why somebody rocks." Today our focus is on Kelly Clarkson. You may think that just because she was the first American Idol and her songs are poppy and her look overstyled that she doesn't rock. But she does.

Let's go back to when we first met Kelly on American Idol circa 2002. I voted for her like 300 times each night. You're welcome, Kelly. Then when she won and had to sing "A Moment like This" and she couldn't get through it because she was crying, I cried too! Then I wouldn't stop singing the song and my friends threatened to tape my mouth shut. But I kept on singing. And now when I hear it on commercials for Sandals Beach Resorts, I shed a tiny tear.

Kelly won because her voice rocked. She wasn't all that hot then--a little pudgy thing with mousy brown hair. But natch, after she won the record studio got a hold of her and fixed her up--highlights, fake lashes, trainer.

I was happy for Kelly but felt bad for her too: she had risen to fame too fast and surely she couldn't last post Idol. And then when I heard her album wouldn't come out for six more months (because she had to tour with Idol pals like Justin "that stylist won't get a hold of me" Guarini), I thought she was doomed.

But then her album came out and there were all these hits. And then her second album came out and there were even more hits. Really, almost every song you hear on the radio is by Kelly Clarkson:

Miss Independent, Low, the Trouble with Love is, Breakaway, Since U Been Gone (seriously, she spells it with a U. How cool is she?) and Behind these Hazel Eyes

Want more proof? She's the first artist in the Billboard Radio Monitor era to hold the No. 1 spot at Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Contemporary during the same week with two different songs (Breakaway and Since U Been Gone). Yep. I do research for my blog.

You know, I almost met Miss Clarkson one time. In 2003 she came to the ad agency where I was working to do press interviews for her movie "From Justin to Kelly" (Yes, that was a mistake. But we're talking about why she rocks, not why she's a bad actress.) So she's there and I so could have walked up and gone all gaga but I didn't know what to say. So when I was coming back from lunch I heard her song "Miss Independent" on the radio and I thought I could say, "Hi! I just heard your song on the radio!" So I told my plan to my friend Theresa and she said, "Yeah, I'm sure nobody ever says that to her." And I got nervous again. But then Theresa ran into her in the bathroom. Kelly was in a stall but had to turn on all the faucets in the sink in order to go. Apparently, she gets the stage fright.

So to recap (in case I may have digressed), here is why Kelly Clarkson rocks:
--She has a killer voice
--Her songs are consistently awesome
--Her songs are hits
--She has a hot new look
--Even though she gets stage fright in the bathroom, she doesn't get it onstage

Kelly, keep up the good work and you might just find yourself married to an unemployed back-up dancer, pregant and eating Cheetos.