Born Idol...

Clarkson is, to say the least, unusual. Though clearly a talented singer, few would have expected the one-time Texan cocktail waitress to have a career that would last when she won American Idol some five years ago.

Wrong! She shot to stardom with 2004's Breakaway, which sold six million in the US and 11 million worldwide, spawning of string of number-one hits like Since U Been Gone, Behind These Hazel Eyes, Because of You, Walk Away and, of course, the title track.

Then, she just as her record company RCA were expecting to milk the formula, she pulled a masterstroke and changed direction with My December, a largely self-penned album that showed her to be a singer intent on establishing her own voice.

This caused a highly publicised row with veteran label boss Clive Davis whom, it was reported, had other ideas about the kind of songs Clarkson should be recording.

The young singer stood her ground and demanded a meeting. According to Blender magazine, Clarkson's account of their subsequent head-to-head went thus: "I was like, I get you don't like the album. You're 80; you're not supposed to like my album.' I said, Clive, I'm going to make tonnes of albums. It doesn't have to be mainstream every time."

She was eventually proved right when My December made its chart debut at number two last year.

Not only has she developed her pop career and postioned herself to be taken seriously as a more mature singer-songwriter but she's also won grammy-winning attention for her collaborations with Reba MacIntyre. Clarkson was perhaps a little unfair to Davis though. He's only 75.

I spoke to Clarkson late last year when she made a flying business visit to London and asked about her apparently unwavering confidence in her own material. She told me: "The way I look at it is that I am my own audience. That seems to work well for me."