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.
Vocal profile
Life and career
Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas and later 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.
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. As the newly crowned "American Idol," Clarkson performed "A Moment Like This" as confetti fell. Her fellow contestants hugged her. Prior to Season 4, Clarkson was one of two contestants to never be in the bottom 3 (along with Clay Aiken of Season 2) and the only contestant who succeeded in staying out of the the bottom 3 and winning the competition in the end. This latter record is now shared with Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood.
Clarkson's first single set an American record, rising on October 5, 2002 from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (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, 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 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.
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] During the promotional tour for the Breakaway album, Clarkson made numerous appearances on late night and daytime television, including The Tonight Show, Ellen, Live with Regis and Kelly, The View and Saturday Night Live where she performed "Since U Been Gone" and appeared in two skits.
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 release from the album. Its music video presented Clarkson singing to an underground audience with a full band; cutscenes of Clarkson destroying a former boyfriend's apartment were incorporated. The song's strong rock ambience allowed it to reach number two in the U.S. and the top five across the world. It also earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance; she won a second award for Best Pop Vocal Album.[18]
The third and fourth single releases "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You" also followed with success. 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
Singles
"A Moment Like This"
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from Thankful
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2003: "
Low" - #58 US; #2 CAN
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from Breakaway
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2004: "
Breakaway" - #6 US; #3 CAN [2x Platinum]
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External links
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The Kellyboard (http://p094.ezboard.com/bthekellyboardakellyclarksonmessaageboard)
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