Don’t mess with Texas! Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson‘s controversial support of Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has sent the singer’s album sales soaring.
There’s no such thing as bad publicity!
It’s not yet known how Kelly Clarkson’s controversial endorsement of Ron Paul will help the Texas congressman’s presidential campaign.
But it seems to be doing wonders for her album sales.
Online retailer Amazon says sales of Clarkson’s latest disc,Stronger, surged by nearly 200 percent in the 72 hours after the singer voiced support for Paul’s campaign. Sales for Stronger nearly doubled within one day of Clarkson’s endorsement of Paul in the Republican presidential primary.
The original American Idol winner’s fifth studio album shot from No. 41 to No. 13 on the website’s “Movers & Shakers in Music” list in 24 hours.
“I love Ron Paul. I liked him a lot during the last Republican nomination and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012, he’s got my vote. Too bad he probably won’t,” Clarkson — a fellow Texan — tweeted late Wednesday.
Kelly Clarkson enrages fans with Ron Paul endorsement >>
“I am a Republican, but I actually voted Democrat last election,” she added.
A splatter of Clarkson’s fans used social networking sites to blast the singer for supporting Paul, who is accused of making racially derogatory comments in newsletters he published between the 1970s and the early 1990s. Others responded by criticizing Kelly’s tolerance for a candidate that many critics view as homophobic.
Paul has said he did not write the comments and does not agree with them.
Clarkson proved herself a graduate of the “Ashton Kutcher Tweet Now, Research Later School of Social Networking” when she confessed she was oblivious to the controversy.
“I love all people and could care less if you like men or women,” she responded to one follower. “I have never heard that Ron Paul is a racist or homophobe.”
Clarkson, 29, tried to quell the controversy by tweeting her support for equal rights.
“Being hateful is not a healthy way to get people to see or hear you,” she tweeted back. “Because you don’t agree with me, I’m stupid. Very mature response.”
Clarkson also clarified that, “I don’t believe in the death penalty. Most Republicans do, but not me.”
The singer, however, stands by her decision to back the polarizing politician, who she champions, “because he believes in less government.” Kelly apparently isn’t the only American enchanted by Ron Paul. With the Iowa caucuses only days away, the congressman is the latest candidate to enjoy a sudden surge with voters.
Paul and and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney led in a CNN/Time poll released Wednesday.
While Kelly sits on the hot seat for throwing her support behind her home state hero, another ex- American Idol has choice words for celebrities who toot their horn in support of a political candidate.
“I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate,” the multi-platinum selling singer Carrie Underwood told TV Guide in 2008.
“It’s saying that the American public isn’t smart enough to make their own decisions,” Carrie explained. “I would never want anybody to vote for anything or anybody just because I told them to. Music is where you go to get away from all the BS. Whether it’s from politics or just the world around you, music should be an escape.”
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