She had the audience hanging on her every breath as she blew them away at the Grammy ceremony! No, I'm not talking about Madonna blowing a hernia right there on stage in front of everybody, either.
Simon and I were disappointed when Kelly Clarkson didn't mention her rise from nowhere to success on American Idol. It was ignoring her fans who put her there. Like we would forget? I rarely watch American Idol and have never voted for any of the wanna-be stars, but it seems like a great way to discover hidden talent. We all know it takes a lot of machinery behind a person to make them a name in the business. In its short history, this program has had a few super novas and a few flame-outs. One of the problems being that some people overload the voting on their favorite, so the winner isn't always how the majority feels. And, if anything, selling music is about numbers. A musician must have enough fans to make the journey worthwhile.
Watching Kelly sing that night made me more intrigued by one of her current hits, "Because of You." I had heard the song before and liked it immediately because of the obvious emotion expressed, thinking it was about how losing a first love had changed someone so they were playing it safe. But I was wrong!
"I will not break the way you did, you fell so hard, I've learned the hard way" or "Because of you, I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt."
The lyrics take us in the opposite direction from the very beginning. It's the point of view of someone who BROKE someone else's heart! Most songs are from the person who has been hurt, the "heartbreakee," not the person doing the hurting, the "heartbreaker." The person breaking the heart usually doesn't give it another thought let alone sing passionately about it! Everyone has scars from loving and losing. The first cut is the deepest, right?
"Because of you, I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me." Protecting one's heart has become a top priority "Because of you, I am afraid" to love.
Kelly's vocal dynamics in this song has enough strength and compassion to handle the power of its beauty --- or the beauty of its power. She is a talented singer with tremendous range. That puts her in a category with only a few female divas strutting their stuff these days. Another amazing thing is, she is one of the composers of this song, so maybe she's lived some of the words? That always makes a difference in performing. Her voice has matured with confidence, as well as been polished to perfection by the well-oiled music machine.
All one has to do is check out her current Breakaway CD for the hits --- Breakaway, Walk Away, Since U Been Gone, Behind Hazel Eyes, Because of You --- all songs with impact. Rarely on any CD does the buyer get more that one or two memorable songs on it. In my opinion, she's the best of the American Idol discoveries, worth watching, and now the show is counting down to another winner. ~~~ Feel the music ~~~ Rita B
~~~ Cyberhugs, Rita B 
