Things cannot get much worse for the troubled, battered, bruised, bloodied Lilith Fair. The biggest American Idol star of them all, the one and only Kelly Clarkson, has dropped off the tour  entirely, probably taking some ticket sales with her.

The news of the exodus of Clarkson comes hot on the heels of 11 cancellations in July due to poor sales and a lethargic economy. Clarkson's excuse? She has to work on her new album.

That, or a savvy management team who is pulling her off the dates so that she does not get any of the stink of Lilith on her reputation, metaphorically speaking. If she is associated with the tour, then she will be tainted by the fact that it is tanking like a lead balloon.

"With the news of cancelled Lilith dates and my current progress in the studio, we've made the decision not to tour this summer," Clarkson wrote on her blog. "I'm going to miss seeing y'all, but I hope that when you hear what we’ve been working on, you’ll be as excited as I am. I’ve been working with some amazing people and am stoked about this next album!" Is anyone out there attending Lilith?