Kelly Clarkson

At the moment, Carrie Underwood is the reigning spawn of the American Idol factory. But while Carrie’s country success has earned her fame, her music still sounds… planned. Enter Kelly Clarkson, who of all the Idols who’ve made it big has the most interesting story and career path. She started out making hook-heavy records like the big record execs wanted, but by her third and most recent album, My December, she followed her gut and took her sound in a new rock-centric direction. While many critics and fans think her previous album was better overall, Clarkson can still be commended for fighting the power-holders and making a decent guitar-rock record. Seeing her perform live would not only be a good way to gauge how well her new style works, but also a good place to meet college-age chicks with attitude (if you’re into that sort of thing).
Mon., Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m., 2007