entertainment

Clarkson teams with Larry The Cable Guy, IHOP for summer tour

By Dexter Brown ⋅ November 17, 2007 ⋅  Email this article ⋅  Print this article ⋅ Post a comment

Clarkson (with McEntire): She’s country, y’all

Just days after announcing a joint tour with Reba McEntire in early 2008, Kelly Clarkson has revealed that she will also hit the road next summer on a “one of a kind” co-headlining tour with popular “redneck” comedian Larry The Cable Guy.

The trek, tentatively called “From Larry To Kelly,” will be primarily sponsored by the International House Of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant chain.

“We are extremely excited,” said Wayne Mackey, a senior media relations officer for IHOP. “We will pull out all the stops to ensure it is a success.”

For starters, Mackey said they plan to include a copy of Clarkson’s “My December” CD for free with every Signature Breakfast meal. The CD, the singer’s follow-up to the multiplatinum smash “Breakaway,” has seen lackluster sales and received tepid reaction from fans and critics alike. Mackey is optimistic that IHOP can reinvigorate the flopped CD. “A lot of our patrons really liked ‘Breakaway.’ They just need to be spoon-fed with this new one,” he said.

“Kelly is from Texas, y’all,” said one of the singer’s close friends, “If there’s any American Idol winner that oughta be milking that country cow, it’s her.”

Clarkson has lately shifted her focus to country music after the dismal performance of the pop-rock-infused “My December.” In addition to the aforementioned tours, there are also plans for Clarkson to record an album of Johnny Cash cover songs, including a “duet” with the Man himself on the classic “Ring Of Fire.”

Narvel Blackstock, owner of Starstruck Entertainment, the company presently managing Clarkson’s career, said the duet will employ similar technology that allowed Natalie Cole to perform duets with her dead father, Nat King Cole, “except that it will be about ten times better.”

Clarkson is reportedly determined “not to be outshined” by fellow AI alumnus Carrie Underwood, whose new album “Carnival Ride” recently topped the charts while her multi-platinum debut, “Some Hearts,” is still selling briskly two years after its release.

“Kelly is from Texas, y’all,” said one of the singer’s close friends, “If there’s any American Idol winner that oughta be milking that country cow, it’s her.”

Clarkson has laughed off the jealousy allegations, saying that she’s always been country all along, and that the pop-rock direction she took on her first three albums wasn’t her idea.

“Clive Davis made me sing pop-rock songs, and I hated it,” said the singer. “All I really wanted was to be a country singer. But Clive wouldn’t let me do it. Well, now I can, and I will.”

“My December,” released in the United States in June of this year, has yet to crack 1 million in sales. The album’s first single, “Never Again,” was swept to a No. 8 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on the strength of digital downloads. The second single, “Sober,” stalled at No. 110.