DVD Josh

Taken from the front page of her site:

"There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the release of "My December," much of which has focused on a supposed feud with my record label, in particular, Clive Davis. I want to set the record straight on this by saying that I want my band, my advisors, those close to me and my record label to be one big, tightly knit family. Like any family we will disagree and argue sometimes but, in the end, it's respect and admiration that will keep us together. A lot has been made in the press about my relationship with Clive. Much of this has been blown way out of proportion and taken out of context. Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time. He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. He has also given me respect by releasing my new album when he was not obligated to do so. I really regret how this has turned out and I apologize to those whom I have done disservice. I would never intentionally hurt anyone. I love music, and I love the people I am blessed to work with. I am happy that my team is behind me and I look forward to the future."

- Kelly

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I'm very disappointed by this. This is a total 180 from where she was only a few weeks ago. This has been such a protracted dispute that her comments can be taken only as a total surrender and plea to help boost her visibility and sales. I personally like her new album and think it shows tremendous growth as an artist. It appears to me, however, that at the end of the day, she's rather be a corporate pop star than a individualistic rock star.

Dubya

While I am no fan of her music, I have been paying attention to what has been going on. While her stance is admirable, at the end of the day she is a corporate pop star. Had she made her way into the business through normal routes, I would have more respect for her but she is just a product of the American Idol system. They all end up bowing to Clive anyway

Groucho

That's a pretty long-winded way of saying "My album sales haven't been so good".

polietilen

My same exact thoughts.

Mordred

What was the feud with Clive Davis about?

Flashback

He said that her album was not good enough to release - she said FU and claiming he was too old to know better. In the end we know who was right and the reason for the kissing up and sort of retracting her initial statement.

DVD Josh

When it was time to record the followup to Breakaway, she approached Clive and said she wanted to write the record, that she felt she deserved it. Clive said that if she did five songs with the collaborators of Breakaway, she could have the other seven. Kelly fought tooth and nail. Clive even went so far as to offer her $1M PER SONG ($5M) to put them on the album. Apparently, one of the main points to her was that one of the songs was a Lindsay Lohan cover, and that set her over the edge. So she wrote and recorded My December with her touring band and presented to Clive. He said it was shit and he didn't hear a single. He basically kept it in the vault for months while Kelly went public. Finally, almost out of spite, Clive released it as if to say "here's the crap you all have been clamoring about, hear for yourself" (note - I like the album, that's just basically what he said). It has had strong critical reaction, but sales haven't been all that strong. It's gotten pretty bitter in the press. I guess now Kelly realizes that she needs him. Honestly, i would not be surprised to see another Kelly release in 2008 more along the lines of Breakaway.

Howiefan

Just FYI, all the interviews that came out with her bashing Clive were done back when the album still didn't have a set release date and he was jerking her around. Even her Blender interview (the issue just came out) was done back in April. The media just kept the drama going.

As for her apology, she's just apologizing for what's been written about him. She still stands behind her music and since her next album will be blues/country (she's already started writing for it and hired Reba McEntire's husband to be her manager, not to mention she's been doing the rounds of the country tv shows/awards), I highly doubt she released that statement to become a pop princess again. Personally, I think that statement shows she has class. She regrets saying those personal things about him (like attacking him for his age) and I don't see it how it shows her chickening out. She's not saying 'he was right, I'll do whatever he wants next time'. She's simply saying she shouldn't have resorted to saying those things just to fight for her music.

Her album is still in the top 5 with no radio airplay or tv promotion and it's already outsold big pop artists like Rihanna (with her horrendous Umbrella song which is played 1000 times a day).

'Never Again' sold almost one million copies on iTunes and other online retailers, yet it was barely played on radio. Makes you wonder if Clive is trying to teach her a lesson and making sure stations don't play it

ike0000

Sounds like a Tom Petty song.

movieking

I can see both sides of the story, but c'mon, let's let it drop now. The CD is out, we know both stories, do we need to hear anymore?

bigjim25

Never Again, who does she think she is Miss Independent??? By the way, the CD is a Beautiful Disaster!

gatoinfeliz

This has been reported but I think it might be fake news since her new album is supposed to be country right?

Apparently she has agreed to work on a pop album with Clive-picked songs for release next year. He said they were "back on track" at the UJA-Federation of New York luncheon.

Poor loser. She should meet him halfway though, release an album you like masked by radio friendly singles, which is what most people did anyways. If she wants to keep some integrity she can at least work with better song writers and producers who don't churn out KIIS-FM type crap. Annie Lennox did this with Steven Lipson when she began her solo stuff and that worked out great. The Diva album was mature yet commercial.