I know it’s contrary to the zeitgeist into which I’ve immersed myself for the past couple of decades, but I’m just not a fan of most of today’s primetime talent competitions.  While there are some series that have made me a confessed addict (Project Runway, Dance Moms, and RuPaul’s Drag Race; to name a few), one show that I never ticked-up on was American Idol.  And yet, I cannot deny the sway held over me by one Miss Kelly Clarkson.

Actually, I really didn’t pay much attention to Clarkson during her Idol days.  It wasn’t until the 2004 release of “Since U Been Gone” when my inner tween began to rock-out.  Sure, at the time, I was jamming to bands like Scissor Sisters, The Darkness, The Killers and The White Stripes – but there, in between “Hey Ya!” by Outkast and “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand, was Kelly, singing her Texan heart out.

Since then, if I were to read into the lyrics of her biggest hits (and I have), I’d come away from Kelly Clarkson (who really knows how to channel her feelings into her songs, in a very straight-forward way) musing “Good Lord, Girl!  Who are you dating to inspire these anthemic songs about breaking-up or maintaining utterly dysfunctional relationships?”  

Which brings me to my latest Kelly-related pontification; the commercial for “The Crew” – the 2012 Toyota Camry.  The minute-long product placement features Clarkson singing her latest hit “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)” alongside a trio of larger-than-life reality television heavyweights, including foodie Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods – Travel Channel), Chris Berman (SportsCenter – ESPN), and James Lipton (Inside the Actors Studio – Bravo).  Upon viewing the commercial (which I’ve now seen roughly 18,000 times), it occurred to me that the casting of three guys who haven’t seen their own waists since the late ‘80s was in no way accidental, and served to make Clarkson (who is lovely) appear downright petite, when loomed-over by them.

Some might deride her music as too “pop” – but when did that become a bad thing?  To the contrary, I’d remind any naysayers that pop music is, by definition, popular.  Not everything in life has to be painted-over with a patina of underground indie-cred, in order to be cool, per se.

And speaking of Indy (nice segue, eh?), it’s just been announced that Clarkson will be performing the national anthem at Super Bowl XLVI, next month in Indianapolis, which carves the latest notch in her belt, alongside those made by last year’s Indy 500 and NBA Finals, and the prior year’s MLB World Series; which I guess just leaves the Stanley Cup, the Kentucky Derby, and a future Top Rank championship bout, for her Star Spangled-domination to be complete!  The revolution might not be televised, but fortunately for all of her fans, Kelly Clarkson will continue to be.

Kelly Clarkson at Superbowl XLVI
Sunday, February 5th
NBC

Get into it!