Kelly Clarkson - Pop Singer

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress whose career blasted off in 2002 when she won the talent competition in the American Idol television series. Clarkson made her debut under RCA Records after she won the first season of the television series American Idol in 2002.

EARLY LIFE

Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in the small town of Burleson, a suburb of Fort Worth. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Rose, a first grade teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson. Clarkson's siblings include her older brother and sister, Jason and Alyssa. When Clarkson was six
years old, her parents divorced after seventeen years of marriage. The family settled in Burleson, where Clarkson's mother married her second husband, Jimmy Taylor.

Clarkson's family struggled financially, and after her parents divorced, music became her refuge. Clarkson attended Pauline G Hughes Middle School and Burleson High School. She wanted to become a marine biologist but changed her mind after seeing the movie Jaws. In seventh grade, a teacher (Mrs. Cynthia Glenn) overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir; Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training.

In high school, Clarkson performed in musicals such as Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Brigadoon. She sang at her high school talent show, after which an audience member shared some inspiring words with her: "God has given you this gift. You've got to sing. You're destined to sing." Clarkson continued singing and soon started classical training, hoping that music would be her ticket to a college scholarship.

Upon high school graduation, Clarkson was offered full scholarships to The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, and Berklee, but decided against college because she had "already written so much music and wanted to try it on her own," and she figured "you're never too old to go to college."

MUSIC CAREER AND ACHEIVEMENTS

Clarkson has released four albums to date: her debut album Thankful (2003), her multi-platinum second album Breakaway (2004) - won two Grammy Awards, My December (2007), and her latest album All I Ever Wanted (2009). Her first four albums have sold over 10.4 million copies in the United States.

Eleven of Clarkson's singles became Top Twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", advanced from No. 97 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in its first week of release, breaking the record for the largest leap to the top position in chart history.

Clarkson was the highest-selling American Idol album in the United States until November 2009, when Carrie Underwood claimed that distinction by a narrow margin of 100,000 albums. Clarkson, however, remains the highest-selling American Idol alum overall, with over 23 million albums sold worldwide to Underwood's 14 million.

WORLD TOURS

Clarkson has toured extensively worldwide as a solo act. After Clarkson's appearance on the CMT Crossroads and her duet version of "Because of You" (2007) with Reba McEntire, they co-headlined the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (2008).

AMERICAL IDOL

Clarkson won the first season of American Idol on September 4, 2002, earning 58% of the vote to 42% for Justin Guarini. Choking back tears, Clarkson performed the ballad "A Moment Like This", the song written for the winner of American Idol, which would subsequently appear on her debut album, Thankful. The song's music video was filmed at Pantages Theater in Hollywood, and incorporated short scenes of Clarkson performing on Idol. When released as a single in October 2002, it set a record on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when it rose from number 52 to number one. This achievement was largely due to the impact from Idol as the CD single managed to sell 236,000 copies in its first week of sales in the U.S.; it spent five weeks at number one in Canada.

ACTING CAREER

In addition to her music, Clarkson had the lead role in the movie From Justin to Kelly (2003) along with Justin Guarini. The film was poorly received by critic and grossed only $5 million at the North American box office, less than half its reported budget. She played Brenda Lee in the television drama American Dreams and appeared in the sitcom Reba. She also participated in comedy skits on MADtv (2002) and Saturday Night Live (2005).

DISCOGRAPHY

Thankful (2003)
Breakaway (2004)
My December (2007)
All I Ever Wanted (2009)

Posted on: January 13, 2010 1:13

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