Music Blogs

Remember Kelly Clarkson's last album, 2007's My December, when she tried to leave the whole American Idol pop thing behind for some dark and stormy rock 'n' roll? She told her record company to shove it, dressed up like a goth biker, and let the world know that sometimes it hurt to be her--actually, it hurt all the time, and it hurt a lot, and...wait a minute, world, where are you going? Come back! Kelly didn't mean to bum you out.

At least that's the way it looks and sounds judging by "My Life Would Suck Without You," the first single from her upcoming album, All I Ever Wanted. It's a total makeover! On the cover for the single, she's a sleek, shiny, lollipop-licking temptress, and if her new songs are anywhere near as glossy as that lollipop then we're going to be hearing them remixed by hipster DJs all year long.

Clarkson's strength has always been that she's got the voice of a rock chick but she sings songs painstakingly crafted by professionals to hit the pop music sweet-spot. This is a winning system, there's no need to mess with it. And so this time, it's back to basics, which means songs from the Swedish hit factory that turned out her mega-awesome 2005 hit, "Since U Been Gone." Sweden: land of ABBA, purveyor of pop you can't get out of your head, uniter of you and your mom, who will both likely be caught singing this Kelly Clarkson song in the supermarket by early June.

In the wake of the My December situation, Clarkson dumped her management team and was forced to downgrade the scope of her tour due to poor ticket sales. It's a whole new Kelly, though, as friendly as the old Kelly. If a team of Swedes and some hot pink lipstick can't save Clarkson's career, we don't know what can.