Before you hear Kelly Clarkson's debut album Thankful, it's disappointing -- not bad, disappointing.

For anyone who followed Clarkson on her way to becoming the first winner on American Idol, just looking at the album cover makes you see what a few months in Hollywood can do to a person. Part of what made Clarkson so appealing when she was on the show was the fact that she was so down-to-earth. She wasn't Britney or Christina. She didn't have the perfect body, she didn't wear loads of makeup all the time, and she seemed genuinely honored to be on the show sharing what she does best with America. Wow -- could we possibly have found someone that parents would love their little girls to idolize?

Sure, until the entertainment industry got involved and took all of that appeal away.

On the cover of her album, her brown hair has been highlighted with about five different shades of red and blonde and has been cut into about 10 different layers -- not the small town girl people grew to love on the show. When Clarkson sang her first single, "Miss Independent," on the second season of American Idol about two weeks ago, her hair was cut into even more layers and poofed up about three inches off the top of her head.

Add that to the black cat suit she was wearing, and that idolizing quality she had going for her goes down the drain. The fact is, Clarkson herself didn't even look comfortable in what she was wearing.

While she may not have been comfortable in the outfit, she was definitely comfortable with the material she was singing. The performance of her first single gave me goose bumps. During the chorus of the song, Clarkson belts out some notes that could put anyone in awe of her talent. Her ability to sing live is incredible. Thanks to the release of the single, Clarkson's album was No. 1 during its first week.

It's a good thing that's the first single, because it's one of the only songs on the album that capitalizes on her incredible voice.

A lot of the album has an R&B feel to it ("Some Kind of Miracle" and "What's Up Lonely"), but it doesn't push her voice to its full capability. The other half of the songs remind you of songs you would hear playing in the background of a movie about a girl taking a long road trip by herself ("Just Missed the Train" and "Beautiful Disaster.") -- all good to sing along to, just not that challenging to sing.

The other highlights on the album are "You Thought Wrong," where Clarkson teams up with fellow first season contestant Tamyra Gray in a song about a guy who thought he couldn't get caught trying to play two girls at one time. The way their two voices sound together and play off of one another makes the song fun to listen to and gets you excited for Gray's first album to hit the stands later this year. "Anytime," the last song and ballad on the album, gets back to the Clarkson most fans know.

It also proves how much unfound talent there is in America. Why there aren't more songs like this on the album is a question for someone else to answer. One can only hope they'll be on the next album -- she's got the voice, now let her use it.