Clarkson Hopes Fans 'Like' Leaked Demos

Michael D. Ayers, N.Y.
Kelly Clarkson has shared with Billboard.com her thoughts on four unfinished songs leaking to the Internet.The new material from Clarkson, never one to escape controversy, surfaced earlier this week via the Los Angeles-based music blog Pretty Much Amazing. The four songs -- "Close Your Eyes," "Ready," "One Day," and "With a Little Bit of Luck" -- have varying sound quality, indicating that the tracks are in different stages of the recording process."I write all the time -- lots of stuff not meant to ever be released, just working on ideas," Clarkson tells Billboard.com of the leaked work. "The fact that people have heard music that's not ready yet sucks, but I hope they like it."In the wake of last year's well-documented public feud between Clive Davis and Clarkson over the dark nature of the material for sophomore effort, "My December," it would seem Clarkson may be heading in another new direction. The singer has flirted with country music ties in the last year, most notably through budding relationships with Reba McEntire and Martina McBride. The folksy arrangements of the new tunes suggest a bare-bones, country approach. Only "With a Little Bit of Luck" continues with the dark rock sound favored on "My December," suggesting it could be an outtake from those sessions.
Blog editor Luis Tovar says his traffic skyrocketed this week, both with fans looking to hear the tunes, as well as staunch defenders of Clarkson's right to keep her work private. "The 'Crazy Clarkson Fans,' as one person called them, were amusing at first, annoying later," Tovar tells Billboard.com. "But it's great to see the brand loyalty out there. These people are ready to go to war for Clarkson. It's kind of cute, almost."Tovar says he's unaware of the songs' origins, saying only that a friend passed him a disc that contained them.Having completed a tour with McEntire, Clarkson is scheduled to perform April 19 for Pope Benedict XVI during his scheduled New York visit.