The world will have to wait a little bit longer for the next dose of Kelly Clarkson, as the pop star and former American Idol champ announced this week that the album’s release date has been pushed back to September. While an initial release date for the album had yet to be announced, the news seemed to catch Clarkson by surprise. Clarkson, who wrapped recording at the end of February, made the announcement to her fans via her Facebook page, saying, “I recently found out that my album won't be coming out until September… the album has been recorded but I can’t release it until then. I realize that is a long time but that’s the best time to release it apparently so I'm sorry for the wait but I promise you it sounds great!” Of course, a fall release puts the album out when all the kids are flocking back to school and closer to the holidays when parents buy CDs as gifts for their kids who already illegally downloaded the album months ago.
This little roadbump seems to be going much smoother than the last time Clarkson had a kerfuffle with her record company, over her third album, My December, when she and label-head Clive Davis carried on a very public argument over the record’s hit potential. The ensuing war of words resulted in Clarkson firing her manager and canceling a tour, but all’s well that ends well, as her last album, the shimmering pop record All I Ever Wanted, was a smash hit. The upcoming untitled record, Clarkson’s fifth, includes collaborations with Steve Jordan, Eric Hutchinson, and Howard Benson; Clarkson is also heating up country charts as “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” her duet with Jason Aldean, is No. 1 on Billboard’s country charts. All this means is that the world will patiently wait for Clarkson’s new album while continuing to forget that Justin Guarini ever existed.