Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer who won the first season of American Idol and has since gone on to have a very successful recording career. She has had five top-ten United States singles and two top-five albums.
Kelly Clarkson: Early Life
Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas to parents of Greek, Irish, and German descent. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, and her brother went to live with their father, her sister with their aunt, and Clarkson with her mother. She moved to Burleson, Texas after fourth 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 cinema (where the premiere of her film, 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.
Kelly Clarkson: 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, Clarkson was praised by the judges for her rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect". She moved on to the final ten, receiving a number two spot in her group.
Once in the top ten, Clarkson gradually moved into the position of competition favorite, with impressive performances of songs such as Franklin's "A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel Like)" and Bette Midler's "Stuff Like That There".
On September 4, 2002, Clarkson won the competition, earning 58% of the audience vote in the final contest against Justin Guarini, who had earlier gained the number one spot in her group. As the newly crowned "American Idol", Clarkson performed the ballad "A Moment Like This".
Clarkson, Clay Aiken of season two and Carrie Underwood of season four were the only contestants in American Idol history who succeeded in staying out of the bottom three places in weekly voting results. Clarkson and Underwood both went on to win the competition.
Kelly Clarkson: Post-Idol Career Begins
On October 5, 2002, Clarkson's first single, "A Moment Like This", made chart history when it made the biggest-ever leap to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, moving from number fifty-two to number one. This accomplishment broke the long-standing record set by The Beatles in 1964, when "Can't Buy Me Love" moved from number twenty-seven to number one. "A Moment Like This" eventually sold more than 500,000 copies.
Her first full-length album, Thankful, was released by RCA Records on April 15, 2003, and was certified double platinum by the RIAA, signifying over two million copies shipped in the United States. Thankful also received good reviews, though critics said that much of her success could be credited to the commerciality of her music.
Clarkson starred with fellow American Idol contestant Justin Guarini in From Justin to Kelly (2003). The film got weak reviews, was a box office disaster, and made it onto some critics' lists as being one of the worst movies ever made. It was also revealed by the two stars that participation in the filming of From Justin to Kelly was based on contractual obligations with American Idol producers and affiliated media partners.
In 2004, Clarkson received a Grammy Nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her edgy top-ten hit single "Miss Independent" (co-written by Christina Aguilera).
The third single, "Low", didn't do as well, peaking at number fifty-eight in the United States. However, it reached number two in Canada, receiving widespread airplay and videoplay, and became one of the biggest-selling singles of 2003.
The fourth and final single from Thankful, "The Trouble with Love Is", was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Love Actually. Although the single failed to chart on the Hot 100, it did reach number one on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
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 by Norwegian Idol, Kurt Nilsen.
Clarkson also embarked on the thirty-city Independent Tour with fellow American Idol contestant Clay Aiken in 2004.
Kelly Clarkson: Solo Career Established
On November 30, 2004, RCA Records released Clarkson's second 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.
Clarkson 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 and David Hodges ("Because of You", "Addicted").
Breakaway's first three singles, "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes", all received widespread airplay in several different radio formats and made it well into the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number six, number two, and number six respectively. The fourth single from Breakaway, "Because of You", is currently climbing the chart, and is at number twenty-three in its fifth week.
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. Breakaway has proved to have staying power. After almost nine months after its release, it has not left the top-twenty. Its weekly range of sales is anywhere from 50,000 to 65,000 copies.
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 a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Clarkson acted in two sketches as well. Clarkson was also named by Teen People Magazine as one of the "Hottest 25 Stars Under 25".
By July 2005 Clarkson was the top-selling American Idol contestant, having sold approximately five million albums in the U.S. and having had five top-ten singles. Breakaway has so far sold over 3.3 million copies domestically (certified triple-platinum by the RIAA on July 21, 2005).
On August 16, Clarkson took home awards for Best Female Artist, Best Album for Breakaway, Best Single for "Since U Been Gone", and Best Summer Single for "Behind These Hazel Eyes" at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, demonstrating her dominance of pop music in 2005.
On August 28 at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, Clarkson won two moonmen for "Since U Been Gone" in the Best Female Video and Best Pop Video categories. She also gave the final performance of the night (performing "Since U Been Gone") in a downpour of rain, paying homage to the 2005 VMA's "water" theme.
Clarkson was one of many artists who contributed to ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a live broadcast that took place on September 10, 2005 across Viacom's primary music networks MTV, VH1 and CMT. The multi-celebrity program aimed to raise donations for the American Red Cross and the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Clarkson performed a cover of Ray LaMontagne's "Shelter" from a Los Angeles studio set.
"Addicted" is scheduled to be the fifth single from Breakaway, set for a Christmas 2005 release.
Kelly Clarkson: Personal Life and Persona
Clarkson's down-to-earth personality has given her a well-known conservative reputation, which is considered unusual by typical "Hollywood" standards. Despite her hard earned fame and celebrity status, she says that the public won't be seeing her in tabloids or gossip columns anytime soon. Kelly has gained tremendous respect for her morality and refusal to go "glam", although many critics now disagree after seeing her image transform from "the girl next door" to "pop diva".
Clarkson's personal relationships are rarely outspoken, and although some past love interests have sparked curiosity among fans and media outlets everywhere, it is known that she is quite particular about whom she dates. While giving her acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2005, Clarkson briefly thanked her beau in the crowd, essentially confirming a rumor that she was in a new relationship.
Clarkson is known for her bond with her fans, with whom she goes out of her way to meet and talk. Once on her Breakaway Tour, she was sick after a show in Chicago. Instead of cancelling the meet-and-greet afterward, as many artists would do, she went through with it and even apologized to her fans for not being able to talk much to them.
Clarkson has also had her share of controversy, such as allegations that her work doing demos for a record company broke American Idol rules about not having a contract with a record company, and later what some saw as poor sportsmanship on her part during the World Idol competition when she realized she was not going to win.
Kelly Clarkson: Chart accomplishments
First solo artist to hold #1 positions on two US Billboard charts simultaneously with two different singles: "Breakaway" — #1, Adult Contemporary and "Since U Been Gone" — #1, Top 40
First artist to have two songs in the top 3 of the Billboard Pop Airplay 100 simultaneously, with "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes".
"Breakaway" was number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for twenty-one non-consecutive weeks (twenty of these being consecutive), tied for the longest run for a female artist with Celine Dion (Kelly's own idol) and her song "A New Day Has Come".
Having the single with the highest certification by the RIAA - 4x Platinum "Since U Been Gone".
The only artist in 2005 to have all of her singles be certified a minimum of platinum ("Behind These Hazel Eyes"), 2x platinum ("Breakaway") and maximum of 4x platinum ("Since U Been Gone").
Kelly Clarkson: Awards and Nominations
American Music Awards
2005: Nominated - Favorite Female Artist
2005: Nominated - Favorite Pop/Rock Album
2005: Nominated - Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
2003: Nominated - Best New Pop/Rock Artist
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
2004: Won - Song Writer Award (Kelly Clarkson & Rhett Lawrence - Miss Independent)
AOL Awards
2005: Won - Best Musical Buddy
2004: Won - Hottest Song (The Trouble with Love Is)
BDS Certified Spin Award
2003: Won - 50,000 Spins (Low)
Billboard Music Awards
2002: Won - Best Selling Single Of The Year (A Moment Like This)
Grammy Awards
2004: Nominated - Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (Miss Independent)
Latin Grammy Awards
2005: Best International Pop Artist
2005: Best New International Artist
MTV Video Music Awards
2005: Won - Best Female Video (Since U Been Gone)
2005: Won - Best Pop Video (Since U Been Gone)
2005: Nominated - Viewer's Choice Award (Since U Been Gone)
2003: Nominated - Best New Artist In A Video (Miss Independent)
2003: Nominated - Best Pop Video (Miss Independent)
2003: Nominated - Viewer's Choice Award (Miss Independent)
New Music Weekly Awards
2004: Won - Female Artist Of The Year
2004: Won - Top 40 Single Of The Year (Miss Independent)
Radio Music Awards
2003: Nominated - Song Of The Year / Top 40 Radio (Miss Independent)
2003: Nominated - Best Driving Song
Teen Choice Awards
2005: Won - Choice Album (Breakaway)
2005: Won - Choice Summer Song (Behind These Hazel Eyes)
2005: Won - Choice Single (Since U Been Gone)
2005: Won - Choice Female Artist
2003: Won - Choice Female Music Artist
2003: Nominated - Choice Summer Movie (From Justin To Kelly)
2003: Nominated - Choice Summer Song (Miss Independent)
2003: Nominated - Choice Crossover Artist
2003: Nominated - Choice Breakout Artist
2003: Nominated - Choice Breakout Movie Star, Female
2003: Nominated - Choice Chemistry (From Justin To Kelly)
2003: Nominated - Choice Love Song (A Moment Like This)
World Music Awards
2005: Nominated - World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist
2003: Nominated - Best New Female Artist
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