Kelly Clarkson and fans turn purgatory into a rockin' party

A grimy fog crept through Universal City on Sunday evening just before Kelly Clarkson took the stage at the Gibson Amphitheatre. No buzzing crowd of latecomers rushed in from the parking garages; a lone scalper tried to hawk his tickets for $10. The will-call ticket line was devoid of VIPs -- they were all downtown at the American Music Awards, watching this year's bestselling stars glad hand each other. The scene out front at a show is rarely this quiet. So this was what pop purgatory looked like.

By Ann Powers

November 20, 2007