I don’t know if Kelly Clarkson is the best singer of her generation, but she certainly has the best voice. Comparisons to Beyonce are ridiculous—Beyonce can’t touch her. I think her only real competition may be another American Idol winner: Carrie Underwood. Underwood, though, really wants to be a country-pop star and chooses cliched, easy material. After over seven years in the limelight it’s obvious that Clarkson doesn’t much care about pop stardom; she wants to sing, and that’s all. You have to appreciate the fact that she just gets up there and belts. She still oversings at times, and she tends to be melodramatic on record, but I become more impressed with “Already Gone” every time I hear it:
And while I’m at it, a word of praise for Reba McEntire, who has obviously been one hell of a mentor.
