My friend Sam suggested I write about the three artists that have had the most influence on me. She made it clear I could only pick three. What is interesting is how some of the timeline of these three overlap.
Kelly Clarkson. I’ve watched American idol since the beginning. I was 15. I was rooting for Kelly during the show, but it wasn't until later she became a larger influence in my life. I have a very distinct memory of seeing the Moment Like This music video come on MTV when I was waiting to my ride to school one day. I remember being just captivated by her voice. A few years later, when her second album dropped, I sat at my kitchen table and wrote down the lyrics to “Because of You”. I read them back to my mom and tried to tell her I wrote them. She clearly knew I did not. But I so badly wanted to be able to write like that (And yes, that song was written by Kelly. In fact she actually originally wrote it when she was 16, but it was reworked and released much later).
The next impactful memory I have is when her album my December dropped. It came at a really strange time in my life. I was in a pit of depression and binge eating disorder, and I was trying to recover from drinking way too much at college. And then this album drops that addresses all these and more. I listened to it in the Target parking lot at 8 am the day it was released. I was blown away that someone like Kelly could understand me. That was in 2007.... and that album is a major reason why I started to write (more on that later, with artist number three). The theme of feeling “understood” by Kelly has continued throughout her career and my life. When I was going through my weight loss journey, I listened to Kelly's music 97% of the time to keep me motivated. The song "Stronger" will forever be one of the most important songs in my life. I will not go through every album and song, but I’ll say that she’s been (along with the others on this list) a constant in my life.
It’s been 19 years since I first knew who Kelly Clarkson was. That blows my mind. And even though she has no idea who I am or the impact she has made on my life, I will be forever grateful.
Kelly and I in 2009. Fun fact: I won a meet and greet, and she sang a cover of Taylor Swift's White Horse during the VIP portion. It was my favorite Taylor song at the time.
Melinda Doolittle: You know how I said Kelly’s My December album in 2007 came at a really critical and dark time in my life? I want to take you back a few months, to April 2007. I was, admittedly, a mess. Drinking all the time. Anxious. I was having quite serious issues with my roommates at the time. I used to lock my door, hide in my closet and lock the closet door. There was one night where I was hiding out in my room, where I often was. I had American idol on in the background because I was still a pretty avid watcher. I was in the bathroom, sobbing, and could barely recognize myself in the mirror. And I heard the tv, it was Melinda singing There Will Come A Day. I was so blown away by her voice, and the lyrics in her song. It wasn't her song, but it hit home for me. Something in me kind of snapped. I needed to get my life together. I cut back on the drinking (I can’t tell you I stopped completely but I definitely stepped back). Just to make a note of the connection of these artists, when I was in that Target parking lot three months later listening to Kelly's album, she sang the lyrics "three months, and I'm still sober". I genuinely felt like Kelly Clarkson had been following me around.
The rest of my story with Melinda is a long one that would take an entire blog post (or several) to describe: the short story is that I joined a forum of fans or Melinda, we all got very close and because of them I had some really incredible experiences getting to meet Melinda and get involved in amazing causes. Since then Melinda, has become a friend. Both of my parents have met her and we interact regularly. Although she does not have a ton of original music out there (but you should check out what she does have), her voice is one of the most beautiful voices you will ever hear. One of her songs, "I Believe In Love", was the song that Tom and I danced to at our wedding.
Melinda is more than an artist to me, she is an incredible human and I am so grateful I have someone like her in my life to look up to.
Melinda and I in 2015- it's hard to believe this is the last time I saw her in person, since we interact so much.
Taylor Swift: I bet you all knew this was coming. Miss Swift also came into my life around 2006/2007. I was in the car with my friend Jess, a country music mega fan. She knew I didn't like country but that I liked Carrie Underwood (ahem...American Idol). She said "I think you'll like this song" when Taylor's debut single Tim McGraw came on. She was right- I DID like it. Her debut album was already out, and I went and bought it and listened to it so much I am surprised it didn't snap in half. I was obsessed with the way this girl, a few years younger than me, could write songs. She wrote every. single. song. Between Taylor and Kelly, I started to really fall in love with writing. I began to write my own "songs" in journals and dreamed of becoming a songwriter in Nashville. I even started capitalizing letters in my writing like Taylor did to decode a secret message.
Yes, the secret message in this one is Melinda Doolittle. I wrote this reflecting on how much my life had changed after she came into it. Don't judge me, I was 19 and dramatic.
When I met Taylor in 2008, I asked her to sign my songwriting journal and told her how much she had inspired me to write. Her eyes grew so wide and she told me how cool that was and to finish that journal. I did finish it! This all kind of came back full circle when Taylor released her Lover album in 2019. With the albums, she released HER old journal and diary entries throughout the years. It reminded me of my writing ambition and how much she had inspired me to write.
Like Kelly, I can't possibly sit here and link every time a Taylor song has hit hard- it would be pretty much her entire discography. Never has there been another artist like Taylor Swift for me. Her authenticity and the way she can write so beautifully just hits me on a whole new level. She has 9 albums now (at just 31 years old), and her songs have been there for me through every celebration, let down, break up, love story. From as long ago as "you come away with a sweet little story of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you" to as recent as "long story short, I survived", her lyrics have been right alongside my story.
Taylor and I in early 2008. She did a show at my college and my friends and I met her after.
The songwriting journal that Taylor signed when we met. It's also signed by Melinda, all three Hanson brothers, and someone else I cannot figure out.
All three of these women have been a constant in my life. When life is really messy and I don't know where to turn to, I have their music. When I feel misunderstood, I have their music. When I need to feel inspired, I have their music. I have cried to their music, I have danced to their music, I have blasted their music in my car, I have defended them, I have tried to tell every person in my life how amazing they all are. And, because I am who I am, I made you a playlist of their songs that have the most impactful meaning for me:
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