Kelly Clarkson to kick off North American tour in January

Singer Kelly Clarkson (C) performs during the first day of the iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada September 23, 2011.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kelly Clarkson will kick off a 40-city-plus North American tour in January, her record label said on Monday.

Clarkson's Stronger Tour 2012, coming on the heels of the October release of her fifth studio album, "Stronger," opens at the MGM Grand Theater in Mashantucket, Connecticut on January 13, with three months of dates through San Diego's Valley View Casino Center announced so far.

Folk-rock singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson will join the Grammy-winning singer at several stops on the tour.

"Stronger" debuted at number-two on the Billboard Top 200 and the digital albums charts, and the first single, "Mr. Know It All," made it to fourth on the iTunes Singles chart, marking Clarkson's ninth top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Clarkson, who last week won a Country Music Association award for Musical Event of the Year with Jason Aldean for their hit single, "Don't You Wanna Stay," burst onto the music scene in 2002 at age 20, when she was the first winner of "American Idol."

Unlike many other winners who failed to rise to the heights of superstardom, Clarkson has enjoyed chart-topping success with pop rock singles such as "Miss Independent" and the smash hit, "Since U Been Gone."

She has also won two Grammys, two American Music Awards, two MTV Awards, in addition to last week's CMA honor.

Tickets for the tour go on sale on November 18.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Jill Serjeant)