Who’s this chick’s lawyer? He’s all she’s got left. And with advice like this, Kelly should fire him TOO!

Kelly Clarkson is a waitress from Texas who was catapulted to fame on her singing ability. Does one expect her to be a student of the business, knowledgeable in all facets of the entertainment game? No, for that she needs the aforementioned attorney, and a MANAGER! With her best interests at heart, who will guide her career appropriately.

Kelly Clarkson is a mass pop artist. If she wants off Sony/BMG and wants to cut alternative folk rock for an indie, SO BE IT! But I wouldn’t advise her to do so, and I don’t believe that’s what she really wants. No, she just wants someone in her corner, who can keep her in the public eye, but navigate the waters with Clive and CAA and the rest of those with a piece of her.

I don’t know Narvel Blackstock. Could be a perfectly nice guy. With a modicum of talent. But he’s in fucking NASHVILLE and last I checked, pop stars were centered in HOLLYWOOD!

Sure, Reba had a TV show. Sure, she still can do live gigs. But try trading out favors at Top Forty radio. Shit, you come up with NOTHING!

As for Narvel’s other hit act, Blake Shelton, he too is country. When you’re negotiating for Kelly to play the Grammys you’re gonna offer up..?

Kelly needs Irving.

Ever wonder why Christina Aguilera seems to be on EVERY AWARDS SHOW KNOWN TO MAN? Those are Irving’s relationships, which he works. The business is RIDDLED with people who owe him, and those who don’t…well, he’s got so much else to offer and trade.

Christina Aguilera was mad at her label. She wanted control.

Irving delivered this. He defended her right to make that inane/insane boxing video, which got chewed up in the press. But having gotten that out of her system, the ballad was released, and suddenly, Christina’s career has been rehabilitated, she’s seen as the only one of the boy band explosion with talent other than Justin Timberlake. She’s seen as a CREDIBLE ARTIST! Everyone says she can SING! Shit, her personal life is no longer a train-wreck. Even the tabloids have laid off. She’s married, she’s not flashing her cootchie in the middle of the night on the streets of Beverly Hills.

Give Irving credit. He fought for her and protected her. And had the power to do so.

If you’re a floundering classic rocker, someone who needs their cred pampered, who needs to reach those who kick the tires, you need to be with Q Prime. The Chili Peppers could be the biggest band on the Continent. And their double album is double platinum in an era where that almost never happens. And the run! It’s gone on for fifteen years!

But if you want to break the mold, you’ve got to be with Terry McBride. He’s the one trying all kinds of new, innovative shit. If he’s not the first, he’ll jump on the bandwagon without hesitating.

Oh, there are other great managers around. But even Bruce Allen has multiple clients. That adds to his power, as well as his ability to roar and his seeming inability to wind down and take it easy, always on the case, always thinking.

The manager is critical. And Kelly Clarkson has just fucked up again. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? ISN’T ANYBODY GONNA SET THIS GIRL STRAIGHT?

She’s probably down with Narvel because she did a country track with Reba. The old saw of go with who you know, who you trust. But that saw only goes so far in this new era. In the nineties, all the middle level managers went to work for the labels. Now, you’ve got the powerhouses and the wannabes. To not realize this is to be uninformed of the landscape.

If you want to play on the world stage, appear on TV, field the big time media opportunities, you need a big time manager. Someone with not only the smarts, but the POWER!

Let’s see… Irving is partially owned by the company that owns TicketMaster. His partner Howard is a pillar of LiveNation’s success. Irving helped build AEG Live. He’s #1 at Wal-Mart. If you want to live in the netherworld between country and pop, his organization controls the Dixie Chicks.

You don’t want to sign with Isuzu, you want to be with TOYOTA! The biggest who always gets it right, whom you trust, with years in the industry, on the UPSWING!

The labels no longer control the marketplace. They’re just desperate shadows of their former selves trying to figure out how to book revenue. The power has shifted to the manager.

Get the right manager for your act.

Sure, Irving had to WANT Kelly. But that’s where she should have gone first.

Just like if you’re a metal band, a band with cred, you need to call Cliff Burnstein first. And, if you’re willing to try a completely new paradigm, collapsing all the rights into one entity, you need to be with Nettwerk.

Come on people, there are only so many chairs in the room. For someone to convince you there are more is to pull the wool over your eyes!