Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer who was the winner of the first season of American Idol and has since gone on to have a very successful recording career.
Life and career
Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas and later moved to Burleson, Texas. In middle school, she was overheard singing in a school corridor by a teacher who invited her to join the school choir. Her participation in choral and musical activities spurred her interest in a recording career and, following her high school graduation, she relocated to Los Angeles, California.
Clarkson worked as an extra on television (one such appearance was on Sabrina the Teenage Witch) and worked briefly with songwriter Gerry Goffin. After her Los Angeles apartment burned down, however, she moved back to Texas discouraged, but still intent on a career in show business.
Clarkson rose to fame on the U.S. TV program American Idol. Before her run on that show, she managed some odd jobs. She worked as a cocktail waitress, a promo girl for Red Bull, at a movie theater (where the premiere of her movie, From Justin to Kelly, was later held), in a pharmacy, at Chili's, the Fort Worth Zoo , as a telemarketer, as a door-to-door sales agent for Kirby vacuum cleaners for a day, and other jobs as well.
In 2002, along with ten thousand others, Clarkson auditioned for the aforementioned American Idol. Impressed by her voice and personality, the panel of judges put her through to the next round. Upon landing a final 30 spot, Kelly garnered praise from the judges with her rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect". She moved on to the final 10, receiving a No. 2 spot in her group. On September 4, 2002, Clarkson won the competition, earning 58% of the audience vote in the final contest against Justin Guarini. She was the only contestant to have never landed in the bottom three. As the newly crowned "American Idol," Clarkson performed "A Moment Like This" as confetti fell. Her fellow contestants hugged her.
Clarkson's first single set an American record, rising on October 5, 2002, from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts (a record previously held by The Beatles with "Can't Buy Me Love"). Her first full-length album, Thankful, was released by RCA Records on April 15, 2003, and was certified as "double platinum", signifying over 2 million copies sold in the United States by the RIAA. Thankful also garnered good reviews, though critics cited that much of her success could be accredited to the "commerciality" of her music.
Clarkson starred with fellow American Idol contestant Justin Guarini in From Justin to Kelly (2003). The film was given weak reviews, and the movie was a box office disaster.
In 2004, she received a Grammy Nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her Top 10 hit single "Miss Independent".
In the first World Idol competition, pitting all the winners of all Idol shows against each other, she placed second, beaten in the worldwide poll only by the Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen.
Kelly Clarkson also embarked on the 30-city Independent Tour with fellow American Idol contestant Clay Aiken in 2004.
In 2004 Kelly Clarkson released Breakaway, her second release, and it debuted at No. 3. Though her first album debuted at No. 1 and sold a few thousand more copies in its first week, industry experts noted this was not too bad of a "sophomore slump". Breakaway received mostly high marks from critics, who stated that the artistic and commercial success of the album cemented Clarkson's place in the pop music industry, separate from the American Idol machine. To date, Breakaway has sold over 2 million copies (double platinum) [1] and remains in the Billboard Top 10, selling about 90,000 copies per week, while her singles "Breakaway" and "Since U Been Gone" have both garnered widespread airplay and made it into the U.S. Top 10.
Clarkson has also appeared on NBC's "American Dreams" as Brenda Lee.
Though so far the most commercially successful of American Idol winners, she has also had her share of controversy, such as allegations that her work doing demos for a record company broke show rules about not having a contract with a record company and what some saw as poor sportsmanship on her part during the World Idol competition.
She appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.
On Billboard's Hot 100 Chart, dated March 31, 2005, Clarkson charted at No. 2 with "Since U Been Gone". This is the highest peak of a pop song since Ashlee Simpson peaked at No. 5 with "Pieces of Me" in 2004. "Since U Been Gone" has topped Billboard's Pop 100 Charts for 6 weeks in a row now as of April 26, 2005. "Breakaway" has seen the same success by topping Billboard's Adult Contemporary charts for over 7 weeks in a row as of April 26, 2005.
Clarkson is known for her bond with her fans, with whom she goes out of her way to meet and talk. Recently on her current "Breakaway Tour," she was sick after a show in Chicago. Instead of canceling the meet-and-greet with her fans afterward, as most artists would do, she went through with it and apologized to her fans for not being able to talk much to them.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
- from Thankful
- 2002 "A Moment Like This" - #1 US; #1 CAN
- 2003 "Miss Independent" - #9 US; #6 CAN; #6 UK
- 2003 "Low" - #58 US; #2 CAN
- 2004 "The Trouble With Love Is "/"Low" - #38 UK
- In the UK, "The Trouble With Love Is" and "Low" were released as a double-A side track.
External links
Last updated: 05-07-2005 12:07:46
Last updated: 05-13-2005 07:56:04
