KELLY CLARKSON'S AGENT DEMANDED $15 MILLION ADVANCE

Kelly Clarkson's Agent Demanded $15 Million Advance
It's always about money, isn't it?

The Kelly Clarkson saga at RCA Records continues, even as the "American Idol" winner's "My December" album looks poised for a No. 1 or No. 2 debut next week with up to 320,000 copies sold.

When we first reported that Kelly had fired manager Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm, it was because he had allegedly made himself the bad guy in an ongoing feud between Clarkson and RCA.
Now, sources tell me that Kwatinetz actually demanded a $15 million advance for Clarkson from RCA last summer.

That was the beginning of the bad blood, since the singer was turning in an album the label didn't like. Kwatinetz, I am told, was soundly rebuffed. Clarkson received a much more reasonable $1.5 million advance.

RCA has put more money into the project, even though we all know that Clive Davis does not approve of "My December."

I am told that the video for "Never Again," the first single, cost $600,000, and that another $300,000 was spent on promoting it to radio stations. But "Never Again" didn't chart well or get much airplay anywhere.

You would think RCA would say "never again" themselves, but this week they are following Clarkson's wishes and putting out a second single, "Sober."

It's a terrible track, which contains the refrain: "It's been three months and I'm sober." This is not considered a "summer" record at a time when more than a few Kelly Clarkson fans are spending three months getting drunk.

"But this is what Kelly wanted, and we're going with her wishes," an RCA insider said.
It won't matter. As the label's people say: Clarkson is a pop star. She isn't Joan Jett. There will be euphoria next week when she's No. 1, but in weeks two, three and four when the album fades away, no one will remember that.

Indeed, RCA shipped 850,000 copies of "My December" and doesn't expect to need more.
Kwatinetz, by the way, is held responsible for Clarkson's tour plans being scuttled.
"He booked her into arenas that she couldn't possibly have sold out, instead of 2,000 or 3,000 seat theaters," a source said. "He really blew it."

Despite all the ruckus over "My December," Clarkson won't be leaving RCA any time soon.
"We have a long term deal with her," a source said. "We're in the Kelly Clarkson business for a long time. If she wants to come back and make a big hit record next time, we're here."