Considering Kelly Clarkson is the original American Idol, one would expect RCA, her record label, to want some original tunes for her upcoming third album "My December."
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The 25-year-old Fort Worth, TX-native knows a thing or two about what sells in the record industry. Her debut album "Thankful" has sold more than 2.5 million copies since its April 2003 release -- and she followed that up with November 2004's "Breakaway" -- which won a 2006 Grammy for best pop vocal album and has since sold 6 million copies.
"Everybody always wants me to go in different directions," she told MTV News. "Obviously they're a record label so they need to sell records. They want the formula writers and the formula producers that do everybody else's stuff, and while I love some of those people... and I don't mind working with that...I just don't like working with someone that gives you a song and is like, 'Oh, I wrote this for you.' But you find out that they've given it to every other artist and they turned it down, you know?"
While her previous two albums were successful, Clarkson wasn't entirely in control of what tracks made the cut and has since said her third album will be different. She co-wrote four songs on "Thankful" and six songs on "Breakaway," but for "My December "-- which she finished recording in January but won't be released by RCA until July 24 -- Clarkson either wrote or co-wrote every song.
"You don't want me to write my album but you're sending me hand me downs?" explained Clarkson to MTV News about her frustration with RCA. "So, I ended up writing the entire thing with the people that I write well with."
If the first single from "My December" is any indication, Clarkson's song choice shouldn't be questioned. "Never Again," released as the first single from the album on April 13, has spent two weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart and peaked at No. 8. It currently sits at No. 12.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
