Man, Kelly Clarkson’s had a rough couple of months. First, it looked as if she’d managed to piss off Clive Davis (who seemed to be taking more of a shine to Carrie Underwood). Then she parted ways with her manager and poor ticket sales resulted in the cancellation of her summer tour.

You could be forgiven for thinking that Kelly’s career might be in a little bit of freefall right now.

And while you might expect a former reality TV star to quickly fade from the limelight, I don’t think Miss Clarkson is headed for obscurity anytime soon. According to Rolling Stone, Kelly’s been taken under the wing of Reba McEntire and her husband Narvel Blackstock. Rolling Stone sneeringly asks “Is Kelly Clarkson The New Carrie Underwood?“, hinting that Clarkson may take an abrupt change of musical direction toward something more commercially viable:

While she is a Texas girl at heart, she has always displayed a preference toward rock & roll’s angst. But with the megasuccess of Carrie Underwood, who is giving Clarkson a run for the Most Successful Idol title, Clarkson may be rethinking her career trajectory and plotting to aim her efforts toward the portion of the population that voted her to Idol gold in the first place: Middle America

While the Rolling Stone story seems plausible, I’m hoping that Kelly sticks with the rawk sounds. I’m loving her current single, Never Again, and I’d like to see her prosper with the style she excels at rather than accept a career in Country Music just because that sells better.