Because of Who?

So I've been trying to avoid this topic. I have hoped that it would go away. But yesterday as I was looking at the Yahoo! entertainment section it came up again. So before I get to the preview of this fall's new TV shows (coming this weekend), I'm going to deal with it. Reba and Kelly's duet.
"Because of You" was one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson songs. I remember when the original single debuted. It blew me away. I had already owned the album...but it was like reliving a dream when it finally hit the airwaves. Now over a year after its original debut, Kelly has brought it back...along with, quite possibly her career, by teaming up with a seemingly unlikely source: Reba. I would have never pictured Reba singing this song. Her voice is unique in a way that just is hard to imagine in other outlets (besides country, that is). But I'll admit, when I first saw the episode of "Crossroads" on CMT where the pair teamed up to first sing the song, I was hooked. And that's where I thought the love affair would end. I should have known better. "Crossroads" is where Bon Jovi and Sugarland made their hit single "Who says you can't go Home" a hit. Why didn't I assume that the Reba/Kelly connection would have the same impact on the music world?
Here is why I have been avoiding the topic (I almost posted about Chris...the Britney fanatic instead...that's how desperate I was to avoid it)...I like country, and I like pop, and I like cross-over country, and cross-over pop...but I HATE when country and pop mix in a way that blurs the lines to the point where people who hate country...suddenly call themselves a fan.
Now I'm all for new country lovers. But, as a country fan I find myself defending my tastes 99.9% of the time. All of a sudden, all those naysayers are jumping on the "Because of You" bandwagon. Well, like Jamie Morris said at the Michigan pep rally last week, "If you aren't already on the train, and are just hopping on, GET THE HELL OFF".
Ok, so maybe I'm being a little harsh. It is a great song. And who cares who likes it. Am I wrong to be slightly irritated here? I think I'd have a different attitude if Kelly wasn't involved in this remake. For example, I love Rihanna's "Umbrella". I loved even more, however, Mandy Moore's cover of "Umbrella". I was able to view them as two seperate entities in two seperate genres because Rihanna was in no way involved in the remake. But hearing Kelly's voice in the remake gets me. It's like she is re-selling the song to already loyal fans. It would be like buying a car new...and a few years later giving it a new paint job and trying to sell it new again. It just doesn't work. The people that would have bought it new won't buy it, they may like it, but they won't buy it. And your new crowd of potential buyers aren't really the people you wanted to sell the car to in the first place. Do you get where I'm going here? So I'm running on fumes. But seriously tell me what you think. Afterwards I promise to move on...as soon as I'm done listening to "Becuase of You" again on my Ipod ;)