Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American singer who won the first season of American Idol, and has since gone on to have a very successful recording career.
Early life
Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas to parents of Irish, Greek, and German descent. She moved to Burleson, Texas after 4th grade. 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.
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.
American Idol
In 2002, along with ten thousand others, Clarkson auditioned for American Idol. Impressed by her voice and personality, the panel of judges put her through to the next round. Upon landing a final thirty spot, Kelly garnered praise from the judges with her rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect". She moved on to the final ten, receiving a number two 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. As the newly crowned "American Idol", Clarkson performed the inspirational ballad "A Moment Like This" as confetti fell. Her fellow contestants hugged her.
Clarkson was one of only three contestants in American Idol history who succeeded in staying out of the "bottom three" places in weekly voting results, along with Clay Aiken of season two and Carrie Underwood of season four. Of them, Clarkson and Underwood went on to win the competition.
Post-Idol career begins
Clarkson's first single set an American record, rising on October 5, 2002 from number fifty-two to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (a record previously held by The Beatles with "Can't Buy Me Love"). "A Moment Like This" eventually sold in excess of 500,000 copies.
Her first full-length album, Thankful, was released by RCA Records on April 15, 2003, and was certified as "double platinum", signifying over two 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, was a box office disaster, and made it onto some critics' lists of the worst movies ever made.
In 2004, she received a Grammy Nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her edgy Top 10 hit single "Miss Independent" (co-written by Christina Aguilera).
The third single, "Low", had poor chart positions, coming in at number fifty-eight in the United States. However, it reached number two in Canada, receiving widespread airplay and videoplay, and becoming one of the biggest-selling singles of 2003.
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.
Career independence established
On November 30, 2004, RCA Records released Kelly's sophomore album Breakaway. Entering the Billboard album chart at number three, Breakaway received praise from critics, who noted its harder, more rock-flavored edge, one that invited comparisons to Avril Lavigne. The album has also been characterized by Clarkson herself as being in the pop rock genre.
Kelly took a more hands-on approach to creating Breakaway, co-writing six of the eleven tracks in the process. Producers and fellow artists also helped Clarkson craft the album, some of which include Max Martin ("Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes"), Avril Lavigne ("Breakaway"), and former Evanescence band members Ben Moody & David Hodges ("Because of You", "Addicted").
Clarkson's singles, the uplifting "Breakaway", the vindicatory "Since U Been Gone", and the anguished "Behind These Hazel Eyes", have all garnered widespread airplay in several different radio formats and made it well into the U.S. Top 10, peaking at number six, number two, and number six respectively.
Industry experts noted that Clarkson had avoided the "sophomore slump", and that the artistic and commercial success of the album and its singles cemented Clarkson's place in the pop music industry, separate from the American Idol machine.
While Clarkson has not attempted any film roles since From Justin to Kelly, she has appeared on NBC's American Dreams as Brenda Lee, and in 2005 was musical guest on Saturday Night Live and performed in two sketches as well.
As of July 2005, Clarkson is the top-selling American Idol contestant, having sold around 5.2 million albums in the U.S. and having had five Top 10 singles. Breakaway has so far gone to sell over 2.65 million copies domestically (certified triple-platinum by the RIAA on July 21, 2005).
Discography
Studio albums
- 2003: Thankful — #1 US - 2x Platinum, US Sales: 2.2 million
- 2004: Breakaway — #3 US - 3x Platinum, US Sales: 2.65 million
Singles
- from Thankful
- 2002: "A Moment Like This" — #1 US (2 weeks, Gold); #1 CAN (1 week)
- 2003: "Miss Independent" — #9 US (Gold); #6 CAN; #6 UK
- 2003: "Low" — #58 US; #2 CAN
- 2003: "The Trouble With Love Is"/"Low" — #35 UK
- In the UK, "The Trouble With Love Is" and "Low" were released as a double-A side track.
- "The Trouble With Love Is" was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Love Actually.
- from Breakaway
- 2004: "Breakaway" — #6 US (2x Platinum); #3 CAN
- 2004: "Since U Been Gone" — 2 US (3x Platinum); #1 CAN (2 weeks); #5 UK
- 2005: "Behind These Hazel Eyes" — #6 US (Platinum); #9 CAN
Samples
Chart accomplishments
- First solo artist to hold #1 positions on two US Billboard charts simultaneously with two different singles:
- "Since U Been Gone" — #1, Adult Contemporary
- "Breakaway" — #1, Top 40
Tours
- 2002: The American Idol Tour.
- 2004: The Independent Tour, co-headlining with Clay Aiken.
- 2005: The Breakaway Spring Tour (March - May 2005).
- The Breakaway Tour is Kelly's most successful to date, selling out all venues in its 35-city stops.
- 2005: The Hazel Eyes Summer Tour
- Dates are currently scheduled throughout the US and Canada, the 42-city tour will run from July 6, opening in Lubbock, TX and ending in Las Vegas, NV on September 10. The July 17, Orlando, Florida concert was webcast live on AOL. A key thematic moment in her concerts is her rendition of Annie Lennox's 1992 hit, "Why", which she introduces as her favorite song. The 70-minute show features frequent sing-alongs from the audience and expressions of gratitude from Clarkson. There are rock arrangements to most songs, with an a cappella "Beautiful Disaster" and a two-acoustic guitar-only shambolic "Breakaway".