Artist: KELLY CLARKSON
Album; Stronger
Label: Columbia/Sony Music
I‘VE always had a faulty tendency to just watch American Idol for its entertainment value (which is questionable at times), but after seeing the title awarded to the winner, fail to follow up with what happens post-Idol. Sometimes, it feels like Idol winners enjoy their extended 15 minutes of fame, but there are a few whose longevity withstands a short-term test of time. Chief of this, and possibly the most is the country star Carrie Underwood, followed by Texan-born Kelly Clarkson and arguably, Adam Lambert.
Clarkson has that kind of sleek muscularity to her voice that is quite taking, and suggests that she would do proper justice to a rock album, but still has yet to come up with one. Stronger is her fifth studio album, and it resonates with its strong pop melodic lines, slick yet sensitive execution and a definite sense that she has come into her own as a professional singer and most importantly, she sings like she feels comfortable in her skin, more than ever.
Stronger largely contains survival songs, most of them well-crafted power ballads, which she ably belts out, from the first two tracks, the hits Mr Know It All and What Doesn’t Kill You onwards. One gem that needs kudos is the third track, Dark Side, which she delivers with punchiness and earnest emotion that lingers in the brain and ear well after the track is done. The War is Over is another guitar-driven, rhythmic noteworthy piece.
Containing a whopping 17 tracks (four of them are bonus tracks, one featuring American Idol former judge Kara diGuardi in The Sun Will Rise and country singer Jason Alden in the wonderful duet Don’t You Wanna Stay), this should be a must-have for any Clarkson fan. All things aside, it’s a strong pop album, and much better than a lot of what her contemporaries are putting out. Don’t miss it!
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