The future is bright for Kelly Clarkson.
The singer and daytime TV host is on the new cover of Variety, teasing her next album and talking about taking over Ellen Degeneres’ timeslot.
READ MORE: Kelly Clarkson Reveals Reason She Stepped Away From ‘The Voice’ And Took A Summer Off
“I’m working on my album this week,” she says. “It’s coming out next year. And this is an important album. I’m working on this in therapy: I have a hard time vocalizing what I’m feeling sometimes, so music is helpful for me. It’s just been really healing. I recorded the record quite some time ago.”
Talking about the process of creating the new record, Clarkson says, “I hadn’t really been working hardcore on an album until I needed to. I was just very busy. There were so many jobs, and I’m a single mom — well, even with being married, it’s a lot, trying to fit kids’ schedules in and all that stuff. But then the whole divorce thing happened, and I needed to write it. And then I didn’t know if I was going to release it, because you can be very angry in that state of mind. So some of the songs, they definitely cover the gamut of emotions; there’s everything on the album. It’s almost like the arc of a relationship, because the beginning is so beautiful and so sweet, and then it evolves. And sometimes it doesn’t evolve how you want.”
Meanwhile, on Sept 12, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” will return for its new season, taking over the timeslot left behind by “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”.
“Nobody is going to fill Ellen’s shoes,” Clarkson says. “I hold the Oprahs and the Ellens in such high regard. Very few people can conquer what they conquered. My team is very stoked, and I believe in my team. But by no means am I filling anyone shoes — I don’t want that pressure.”
Talking about being famous for two decades now, she says, “I find myself to be incredibly normal. I don’t know how that happened. I always feel bad for artists who can’t go anywhere. I can go to Target all the time, anytime I want. Somehow I lucked out.”
Clarkson also reveals her favourite daytime talk show.
“I loved Rosie O’Donnell’s show. If anybody were to compare me, I feel I’m more like that, vibewise,” she explains. “She was such a fan of people. She had conversations; she loved music; she loved to be inspired. It was just positive.
The singer also looks back on her career, and the attempts early on to make her into a hyper-sexualized pop star.
“At the end of the day, a lot of people look at you as a product, because they’re in a business —they’ll get fired if they don’t make money,” she says. “So I don’t blame them. Women love to be sexual. Everybody likes to be flirty. Everybody likes to be sensual. But every woman is not just that one thing; we are multifaceted. And they try to take that one thing and blow it up. I had to fight like hell to make sure that it didn’t push the envelope for me. I think it’s hard if you’re a young girl, a teenager. You’re still growing up.”
