2003-11-16 ::
World Idol Event Puts Kelly Clarkson Back in Competition
 
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Kelly Clarkson may be queen of America but will she capture the hearts of music fans around the world as the ‘Idol’ concept extends its borders? Stay tuned on the first day of 2004.

The first season winner of pop culture phenomenon “American Idol” will represent the United States in a “World Idol” two-part competition airing on Christmas and New Year’s Day. The FOX network has announced a global competition that will see the winners from the first season of the UK’s “Pop Idol,” “American Idol” and “Canadian Idol” compete against eight other singers from different countries. The UK’s Will Young, Canadian Ryan Malcolm and Clarkson will compete against South Africa’s Heinz Winckler, Poland’s Alicja Janosz, Germany’s Alexander Klaws, Belgium’s Peter Evrard, Lebanon’s Diana Karazon, Netherlands’ Jamai Loman, Norway’s Kurt Nilsen and an Australian contestant to be named.

A panel of judges – no word yet whether Simon Cowell will be included – will critique the performance. The voting process has not been ironed out yet but viewers around the world will be eligible to vote. But in fairness, viewers may not be allowed to vote for the singer from their own country. The winner will be crowned on the January 1st show.

Besides the World Idol competition, the third installment of “American Idol” will begin in January. Premiered during the usual sleeper summer season, the first season caught the attention of viewers and became an instant hit in the US. Following her 2002 win, Clarkson’s debut album Thankful entered at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. She’s had success with singles “A Moment Like This” and “Miss Independent.” Ruben Studdard, the winner of the second season, will release his debut album on December 9. Runner-up Clay Aiken beat him to the punch in October with the release of Measure of a Man. Like Clarkson, Aiken’s album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Clarkson presses on with her debut album with the release of third single, “The Trouble With Love Is,” which is the first single from the “Love Actually” soundtrack, a new film that stars Hugh Grant. On November 18, Clarkson will release the “Miss Independent” DVD, which includes videos of her hit songs and clips from the making of a video for “Low.”

Our Thoughts

Kelly Clarkson has demonstrated that almost two years after her Idol win, the talent show is worth the airtime it consumes.