Kelly Clarkson Reveals "All I Ever Wanted" Album Cover, Amazon Previews First Single

That image up there is the cover for Kelly Clarkson's new album, All I Ever Wanted, due out March 17th. Earlier this week we reported that the first-ever American Idol's new LP would be called Masquerade, but we were trusting the Wall Street Journal on that, so don't blame us. Like the singer's "My Life Would Suck Without You" single, the cover depicts a shiny, happy Clarkson, one ready to step out of the shadows of the brooding My December and reclaim her pop throne. Personally, the image kinda reminds us of another "comeback" album: Britney Spears' Blackout.

If you think the cover looks, well, altered, so does Ms. Clarkson. She even blogged about it: "it's very colorful and they have definitely photo-shopped the crap out of me but i don't care haha! whoever she is, she looks great." She also professed her continuing love of the Twilight series, but that's neither here nor there.

Getting back to "My Life Would Suck," thanks to the Amazon MP3 store, you won't have to wait until its radio debut on January 19th. The store is currently streaming a 30-second preview for the song, which was produced by the "I Kissed A Girl" writing duo of Dr. Luke and Max Martin. Based on the 30-second listen (we've already heard the whole thing, but still), it's obvious that Clarkson is embracing the pop again as her American Idol-winning pipes glide over a bed of driving synths. It is quite Katy Perry-ish, but with a much, much better vocal (Simon Cowell would be proud).

More good news: According to Amazon, the MP3 will be released January 16th. Clarkson is "in a period where she wants to take on the pop world again," RCA general manager Tom Corson told the WSJ. "She's ready, and she's got all the right support."

Related Stories:
• Kelly Clarkson Reveals Glossy New Look for March Album
• Kelly Clarkson's New Single "My Life Would Suck Without You" Hits Radio January 19th
• Album Review: My December

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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