Just Announced Kelly Clarkson hits the ground running in 2012

Now that her fifth album Stronger has been released into the wild, it’s time for Kelly Clarkson, one of the most successful products ever to come from the American Idol machine, to hit the road for promotion. While Stronger is a little less hooky than her last mega-hit album All I Ever Wanted, it still fits nicely into the Clarkson canon (yes, that includes My December, haters) with plenty of glimmering dance-pop hits and anthems meant to belted out at top volume while driving down the highway. Or at any of these 40 shows, the first announced leg of what is sure to be a massive world tour, kicking off in, uh, Mashantucket, Connecticut and going through mid-April when she arrives in San Diego. There are lots of gaps in between dates, so we’re sure she’ll fill those in with even more dates as the tour draws closer. For instance, an alleged date in Milwaukee not included in the original tour announcement is being advertised. So who knows? Still, homegirl seems to have something for playing casinos these days.

Matt Nathanson, who shimmied to Prince for our Undercover series earlier this year, opens most of the shows on this leg. Tickets for several shows go on sale Friday, November 18 at 10 a.m. (local venue time) with pre-sales for Kellebrities (fan club members for the non-hardcore Clarkson fanatics out there), but other shows go on sale at different dates. We suggest checking back here for more official updates.

Jan. 13, 2012—MGM Grand Theater—Mashantucket, Connecticut
Jan. 15, 2012—Mark G. Etess Arena at Trump Taj Mahal—Atlantic City, New Jersey
Jan. 17, 2012—Times Union Center—Albany, New York
Jan. 19, 2012—Turning Stone Resort Casino—Verona, New York
Jan. 21, 2012—Radio City Music Hall—New York, New York
Jan. 24, 2012—Verizon Wireless Arena—Manchester, New Hampshire
Jan. 26, 2012—Wang Center Boston, Massachusetts
Jan. 28, 2012—Cambria County War Memorial Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Feb. 2, 2012—Moran Theater, Times Union Center Performing Arts—Jacksonville, Florida
Feb. 4, 2012—Riverdome, Horseshoe Bossier City—Shreveport, Louisiana
Feb. 10, 2012—Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie—Dallas, Texas
Feb. 14, 2012—Hard Rock Live—Biloxi, Mississippi
Feb. 16, 2012—Seminole Hard Rock—Miami, Florida
Feb. 18, 2012—Universal Studios—Florida Orlando, Florida
Feb. 21, 2012—Ruth Eckerd Hall—Tampa, Florida
Feb. 23, 2012—Fox Theatre—Atlanta, Georgia
Mar. 2, 2012—Fallsview Casino Resort—Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Mar. 3, 2012—Fallsview Casino Resort—Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Mar. 6, 2012—John Labatt Centre—London, Ontario, Canada
Mar. 8, 2012—The Colosseum at Caesars—Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Mar. 10, 2012—The Venue at Horseshoe Casino—Hammond, Indiana
Mar. 14, 2012—O’Reilly Events Center—Springfield, Missouri
Mar. 16, 2012—Fox Theater—St. Louis, Missouri
Mar. 18, 2012—1ST BANK Center—Denver, Colorado
Mar. 20, 2012—Maverik Center—Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar. 22, 2012—ShoWare Center—Seattle, Washington
Mar. 27, 2012—Event Center at San Jose—San Jose, California
Mar. 29, 2012—Rabobank Pavilion—Bakersfield, California
Mar. 31, 2012—Reno Event Center—Reno, Nevada
Apr. 3, 2012—Nokia Theatre—Los Angeles, California
Apr. 5, 2012—The Pearl Concert Theater—Las Vegas, Nevada
Apr. 7, 2012—Fantasy Springs Resort Center—Indio, California
Apr. 10, 2012—Valley View Casino Center—San Diego, California