Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and occasional actress who rose to prominence after winning the first season of the reality-television series American Idol in 2002. Signed to RCA Records, she was initially marketed as a pop musician with her commercially successful debut album Thankful (2003). Clarkson took more creative control over her music and developed a more rock-oriented image for the release of her second album Breakaway (2004), which yielded the highest sales of her career and received two Grammy Awards. Clarkson has released numerous worldwide top-ten singles, and her two albums to date have received platinum certifications in several countries.

Biography and music career

Early life

Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas on April 24 1982. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Ann Taylor, a first grade English teacher of Greek descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of Welsh extraction. Clarkson's siblings include her older brother Jason, and her older sister Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents separated after seventeen years of marriage; her brother went to live with her father, her sister went to live with an aunt, and Clarkson remained with her mother. Following the separation, Clarkson frequently moved around Texas while their mother managed several occupations in order to support the family. Being six-years-old at the time, Clarkson did not understand why her family had been constantly moving and said that children usually do not comprehend the process of divorce. Eventually, the family settled in Burleson, Texas and Clarkson's mother subsequently remarried to Jimmy Taylor.

Clarkson attended Pauline Hughes Middle School when she reached seventh grade. She had originally wanted to become a marine biologist, but during the same school year, a teacher overheard her singing in a restroom and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training before. She attended Burleson High School following middle school and began performing in musicals such as Brigadoon.

Upon graduation, Clarkson worked several occupations to finance her demo CD that she had been hoping to market toward record labels. She received few responses though, and she eventually decided to move to Hollywood to seek out other opportunities in music. However, early attempts went unnoticed and Clarkson wound up appearing as an extra on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch to make ends-meet. After her apartment was burned down in a fire, disappointed, she returned to Texas. In order to make a living, Clarkson worked at a cinema, as a cocktail waitress, telemarketer, and a Red Bull promoter.

American Idol

Upon returning to Burleson, many of Clarkson's friends encouraged her to audition for the 2002 début of the reality television program American Idol. Entering the competition alongside ten thousand others, the judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were impressed with her voice. She earned a position in the top thirty finalists and week-by-week, performed a song on live television to North America. When American Idol concluded each week, the viewers would vote based on the performance they enjoyed the most. Clarkson sang a rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" which garnered her a top ten position. Other songs Clarkson performed on American Idol include Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman", Badfinger's "Without You", and Céline Dion's "I Surrender".

Clarkson had made it to the final two contestants on American Idol, and on September 4 2002, she won the competition, earning 58% of the audience vote over Justin Guarini.^[1] 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 début album Thankful. The song's music video was filmed in an abandoned theatre and incorporated short scenes of Clarkson performing on Idol. When released as a single in October 2002, it set a still-standing record on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when it rose from number fifty-two to number one.^[2] 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.;^[3] the single spent five weeks at number one in Canada.

Shortly after the completion of the first season of American Idol, Clarkson had been accused of working with a record company. American Idol rules stated that a contestant was not allowed to compete on the program if they had been linked to a record company. However, she was cleared of all allegations, as she had only had a record contract in order to conduct demonstration work.^[4]

In December 2003, a competition titled World Idol was held in London, England, gathering the winners of the first seasons of Idol from across the globe. Clarkson was called out for presenting poor sportsmanship during the competition when she realized that she was not going to win. Clarkson placed second only behind Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen. She performed Aretha Franklin's "A Natural Woman" at the competition.

2003–2004: Thankful

Following the successful release of "A Moment Like This", Kelly Clarkson's début full-length album Thankful was released in North America by RCA Records on April 15 2003.^[5] It debuted at number one on both the U.S. Billboard 200 and Canadian albums chart. Eventually, the album was certified double platinum by the U.S. RIAA for sales of two million copies on December 8, 2003^[6] and platinum by the Canadian CRIA for sales of 100,000 copies on February 10, 2004.^[7] Reviews for the album were generally favorable, however, several critics noted that her early success was established due to her performances on American Idol.. All Music Guide critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for its vocal ability: "throughout this record, [Clarkson] makes it seem effortless and charming. She can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door".^[8] Rachel Kipp of JS Online criticised Clarkson for not having the same personality on Thankful that she had on American Idol, and wrote: "on American Idol, Clarkson showcased a great voice and an endearing, "aw-shucks" personality. That personality is missing on Thankful, and there lies the album's greatest fault". Kipp blamed the producers behind the album for not allowing Clarkson to be herself.^[9]

"Miss Independent" became a success when released as the second single from Thankful. It reached the top ten of the U.S. and Canadian singles charts, and earned Clarkson a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.^[10] She failed to win the award though. When the single was released in the United Kingdom and Australia, it reached the top ten of the charts, however, Thankful received less attention. It peaked at number forty-one on the UK albums chart and at number thirty-three on the Australian albums chart. Further singles released outside North America would appear even less successful.

The third single taken from Thankful "Low" reached number two in Canada, however, was unable to make the top fifty of the U.S. chart. Final single "The Trouble with Love Is" yielded low peak positions on both charts. Clarkson attributed the underperformance of both releases to poor management and thus fired her manager Simon Fuller, whom she felt was not completely focused on her career.

2004–2006: Breakaway

Clarkson's second studio album Breakaway was released by RCA Records on November 30 2004.^[11] It débuted within the U.S. top five and Canadian top ten, and sales were initially low in comparison to Clarkson's first album.^[12] However, the single releases from Breakaway proved successful, and allowed the album to become certified five-times platinum in the U.S. on January 18, 2006^[13] and four-times platinum in Canada on September 29, 2005.^[14] Clarkson co-wrote six of the twelve songs with several songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, producer Max Martin, and Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The album received different responses from critics, with Rolling Stone writing: "On Kelly Clarkson's second album, the ex-cocktail waitress turned hitmaker embraces her rock side rather than the pop pageantry that put her on top of the American Idol heap".^[15] TeenInk noted the strength of Clarkson's vocals on Breakaway, and praised the change from pop music to contemporary rock: "[Clarkson] retains the incredible power and beauty of her voice while switching to rock [...] for those who loved her old sound, Breakaway may take some getting used to, but it is a musical experience not to be missed".^[16] All Music Guide called the album "a nice, low-key relief".^[17]

2004–2006: Breakaway

Clarkson's second studio album Breakaway was released by RCA Records on November 30 2004.^[18] It débuted within the U.S. top five and Canadian top ten, and sales were initially low in comparison to Clarkson's first album.^[19] However, the single releases from Breakaway proved successful, and allowed the album to become certified five-times platinum in the U.S. on January 18, 2006^[20] and four-times platinum in Canada on September 29, 2005.^[21] Clarkson co-wrote six of the twelve songs with several songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, producer Max Martin, and Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. The album received different responses from critics, with Rolling Stone writing: "On Kelly Clarkson's second album, the ex-cocktail waitress turned hitmaker embraces her rock side rather than the pop pageantry that put her on top of the American Idol heap".^[22] TeenInk noted the strength of Clarkson's vocals on Breakaway, and praised the change from pop music to contemporary rock: "[Clarkson] retains the incredible power and beauty of her voice while switching to rock [...] for those who loved her old sound, Breakaway may take some getting used to, but it is a musical experience not to be missed".^[23] All Music Guide called the album "a nice, low-key relief".^[24]

The title track "Breakaway", which served as the original song for the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), achieved considerable success across the world and became Clarkson's third top-ten single in the U.S. and fourth top-ten single in Canada. It peaked at number ten in Australia, however, did not receive a UK release. The song's contemporary pop rock ambience was one of the several tracks including a stronger rock-influenced sound that had not been heard on Thankful. The second single "Since U Been Gone", which was produced by Max Martin, became the most successful single release; it reached the top five of the majority of charts it appeared on across the world and earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.^[25]

The third and fourth single releases "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You" also followed with success. Although neither had attained Grammy Award nominations, widespread airplay and heavy music video rotation ensured top-ten positions for both singles across the world. The former reached number six in the U.S. while the latter débuted at number one for a single week in Germany. Breakaway's final single "Walk Away" is currently in the top-thirty in the U.S. and in the top-ten on the Canadian BDS Airplay chart.

Discography

Studio albums

• 2003: Thankful (April 15, 2003)
• 2004: Breakaway (November 30, 2004)

Singles

The following singles reached the top ten in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Indonesia. A hyphen indicates that the single was not released in the country.

Notes

References

External links

• KellyClarkson.com — official website.
• KellyClarksonUK.com — official UK website.
• Kelly Clarkson at All Music Guide.
• Kelly Clarkson at Rock on the Net.
• Kelly Clarkson at the Internet Movie Database.
• Kelly Clarkson lyrics at AZLyrics.

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