Kelly Clarkson is one of the stars featured in the new Power of Women L.A. issue of Variety, and in it she talks about the influence Michelle Obama had on her new album, joining the coaches on “The Voice”, and shares what it what like to be “bullied” by record executive Clive Davis.
In the interview, Clarkson admitted that the last track, “Go High”, on her upcoming album “Meaning of Life”, was inspired by Michelle Obama. The song, which features the line “When you go low I go high/I go high, I go high/When you go low I go high,” was written after Clarkson heard one of the former First Lady’s speeches in 2016.
“I remember seeing it on TV and just being floored,” Clarkson said. “Not only the political value it has. You don’t have to be a politician to have experienced taking the high road. I think that’s a lot of us in whatever you do in life.”
The “American Idol” winner also talked about switching teams to join roster of coaches this season on “The Voice”, though she said she considered returning to “Idol”.
“We let them come to the table, because it’s my beginnings,” Clarkson said. “At the end of the day, I don’t like being separate from my husband. Blake [Shelton] is his artist. We’re all there. For ‘American Idol,’ you have to travel. And it excites me to do something different. I’m not going to lie. I’m stoked about pushing the red button.”
A lot fo the appeal of “The Voice” came down to the time coaches get to spend mentoring the contestants. “On ‘Idol,’ you can’t really have a relationship,” Clarkson said. “And I, as you can tell, love talking and having relationships.”
The 35-year-old also opened up about the difficult relationship she had with RCA executive Clive Davis while working on her 2007 album “My December”.
“A group of men thought it was ok to sit around a young woman and bully her,” Clarkson recalled. “I was told I should shut up and sing. And then, this is the best part. [Davis] played me the song that should be on the album, which was ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes,’ which I wrote. Am I a s***ty writer?”
The experience with Davis was a massive disappointment for Clarkson, but she tries to see the good in the work that she did. “Here’s the thing,” she said. “It always sounds like I’m going against Clive Davis. You have no idea how excited I was when I found out he was taking over. It’s like meeting someone you’ve idolized since you were a kid and being let down.
“The only victory I see from the last 15 years is honestly just the fact that, even in such an incredibly not healthy environment, we were very successful,” Clarkson added.
