Kelly's Frankest Interview Yet

In this week’s “Entertainment Weekly,” Kelly Clarkson gives her frankest interview yet about her struggles with her record label over “My December” which is now coming out June 26th (Kelly asked that the release be before the beginning of her tour so fans would be familiar with the songs.)…

So what’s the deal here? As Kelly told “EW,” “Everybody wants to come out with the same thing and put beats on it.” But Kelly decided to go her own way and not work with the same producers that helped craft “Breakaway.”

Her manager, Jeff Kwatinetz, who was also interviewed for the story, summed up the situation like this: “In a time when record labels are under increased economic pressures, they get nervous when a big-selling artist like Kelly wants to take risks and evolve. The pressure they put on this young woman to compromise herself and do another version of the same record, I’ve never witnessed in my career.”

Kelly told MTV.com that “at one point, RCA urged her to cover a Lindsay Lohan track and also offered hand-me-downs from other singers.” But Kelly said she “never once compromised [herself because] that’s when you start to lose fans and credibility.”

The powers-that-be at RCA have never been crazy about Kelly writing her own songs, even though she’s written #1s and won awards for her songwriting. She said it’s because she’s “a young woman.” She heard someone say that during a conference call when they didn’t know she was on the phone.

For months after Kelly delivered the album to RCA there was no word at all about it from Clive Davis or anyone else. So, Kelly met with Clive so they could talk it out. She basically told him, “You don’t like the music; that’s cool. You don’t have to love it.” Kelly told “EW” there’s no hard feelings and she hates that their differences have been made public. “I don’t want to be the Joan of Arc of the music industry.”

Clive Davis declined to be interviewed for the story, but in an e-mail to “EW,” he said, “We are setting up extensive plans to support Kelly’s album in a major way, befitting her status as one of the world’s best-selling artists. We fully expect that Kelly will have a long-term, powerful career for many years to come.”

Kelly said the label was concerned with the album’s darker material, saying it was too negative. Kelly said to “EW,” “I’m like, ‘Well, I’m sorry I’ve inconvenienced you with my life.’ No, it doesn’t say, ‘I’m happy, I’m with a boy and having so much fun.’ But it’s reality. I know it’s not going to do what ‘Breakaway’ did, ‘cause it’s not as mainstream. I get that. Some of the songs are not what 10-year-olds are probably going to listen to. But we all go through situations for certain reasons, and I think we should share that. This record is more intense, it’s more raw, it’s more emotional. But it’s not that different. It’s not Metallica. Even if it does tank—who cares? It’s one album! Out of a whole career of albums I’m going to have, you’re worried about one? I’m not worried about it! And I’m obviously not going to want to put out [crap]. I obviously don’t want to fail. I’m not an idiot. Like ‘Nebraska’ from Bruce Springsteen—that’s one of my favorite records, and it’s not the most well-known. But it’s an artist’s record.”

Coming to Kelly’s defense is none other than Simon Cowell, even though he’s been somewhat critical of Kelly in the past for not giving “Idol” enough credit for her success. Simon told “EW,” “She could have gone the easy route, which is you go with [‘Since U Been Gone’ producer] Max Martin—it’s a guaranteed success. She made it absolutely clear that she wanted to steer the musical direction on this record. You just gotta say, ‘You know what? This girl has given us millions and millions of sales.’ You’ve got to give her that opportunity. If it works out, fantastic. If she then decides she wants to do a pop album, every good writer and producer wants to work with her. Because Kelly will be here for 30 years. She has one of the best pop voices in the world right now. What she sold in the U.K., Europe, Asia had nothing to do with ‘American Idol.’ It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she’s got an incredible voice. She’s not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her”…

We’ll see what all the fuss is about June 26th…