Clear Voice...tips anyone? Thank You!?!

Clear Voice...tips anyone? Thank You!?

Hi. I'm singing in a competition next week that i'm very excited about (i've made it past the first round! yay!) and I've decided to sing Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You" at the request of many friends and family. I was hesitant to perform this song because kelly has such a smooth voice strong voice, mine is strong, but sometimes more raspy, less smooth. But I said what the hay...just do it.
QUESTION: how do i get a more smooth voice? I'm gonna start taking honey, and lime with warm water in the morning as i usually wake up with a sore throat or VERY raspy voice. Also, drinking more water during the day and singing excercises. I'm not an expert, and dont aspire to be a pro singer, just a hobby that i'm good at and have alot of fun doing. ANY TIPS? What to eat, drink, voice excercises, etc? Thank you so much! (p.s. during the day i have phlegm in my throat and drinking water DOES NOT HELP!...maybe it's because i consume a lot of dairy products?

Whoa! Ambitious. A hard song to sing... good luck ;)

My suggestions would be to try steam inhalations. Fill a deep bowl with some boiling water, put your face above the steam and breathe it in. This should clear out your throat and help especially if you get sick before a performance.

Try taking this each day, to keep your vocal folds healthy. It's called Narium, and I use it if my voice is strained, sore, raspy, or if i'm starting to feel unwell.
Combine 1 tablespoon of bicarb soda with 1 cup warm water and gargle for 5 minutes.
It doesn't taste the greatest, but....

Honey and lemon are said to help, although my singing teacher says they dont, but it's worth a try anyway.
Also keep away from dairy foods, or foods containing dairy to avoid phlegm build-up in the throat. But it is unreasonable to avoid it altogether, just limit yourself to a certain amount per day.

When you're performing and practicing with live instruments, make sure that if possible, you use a microphone to prevent straining your voice over the volume of the backing, or if it's on a CD, try turning it down as much as you can, as long as you can still hear it.

Get lots of rest, do about 10 minutes of vocal 'sirens' and scales, before and after singing, and drink at least 2 litres of water per day.

Good luck!!!