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EARLY LIFE
Kelly Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in the small
town of Burleson, Texas. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne
Ann Rose, a first grade teacher who is of Greek and Irish descent, and
Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer who is of Welsh extraction.
Clarkson's siblings include her brother Jason, and her sister Alyssa.
When Clarkson was six years old, her parents split up 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.
Clarkson frequently moved around Texas while her mother managed several
professions in order to support the family. Clarkson has since stated
that, being six years old at the time, she did not understand why her
family had been constantly moving. Eventually, the family settled in
Burleson, where Clarkson's mother married her second husband, Jimmy
Taylor.
Clarkson attended Fulton Middle School and Burleson High School. She
originally wanted to become a marine biologist, but in seventh grade, a
teacher 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 before. In high school, Clarkson performed
in musicals such as Brigadoon.
Upon graduation in 2000, Clarkson worked several occupations to finance
her demo CD that she hoped to market toward record labels. She received
few responses, and eventually decided to move to Hollywood to seek out
other opportunities in music, one of which was a mentorship under
songwriter Gerry Goffin. However, Goffin fell ill, and to make ends meet,
Clarkson appeared as an extra on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and That
'80s Show among others. She played a small role in the 2002 film Issues
101. Following four months in Hollywood, Clarkson was discouraged when
her apartment burnt down and decided to return to Texas, where she
worked at a cinema, and as a cocktail waitress, Six Flags performer,
telemarketer, Kirby Vacuum salesperson, and a Red Bull promoter.
AMERICAN IDOL
Once Clarkson returned to Burleson, several of her friends encouraged
her to audition for the 2002 debut of the reality television program
American Idol. She entered the competition with 10,000 others, and the
judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were impressed with
her voice. She earned a position in the Top 30 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 Carole King'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 and earned 58% of the
audience vote over 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 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. 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,
and remains Clarkson's only #1 there.
Kelly Clarkson performing on American IdolShortly following the
completion of the first season of American Idol, Clarkson was accused of
working with a record company. American Idol's 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 contract in order to conduct demonstration work.
Soon after winning American Idol, Clarkson starred with Idol runner-up
Justin Guarini in the movie From Justin to Kelly. The film was poorly
received by critics [6] and grossed only $5 million at the North
American box office, less than half its reported budget.[7] Clarkson has
not taken any acting roles since, and says she is shocked when people
send her scripts after From Justin to Kelly, often citing contractual
obligation as her sole reason for involvement in the film. Clarkson is
the only American Idol winner so far who has not held the title for an
entire year, since season 2 started the following spring.
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 placed second behind Norwegian Idol Kurt Nilsen. She
performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman".
Because she left immediately after the competition, she was chided by
some in the media for what they saw as poor sportsmanship. Clarkson
later explained to fans that she was suffering from illness.
2003-2004: THANKFUL
 Following
the successful release of "A Moment Like This", Clarkson's full-length
debut album Thankful was released in North America by RCA Records on
April 15, 2003. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Eventually, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA for
sales of two million copies on December 8, 2003 and platinum by the CRIA
for sales of 100,000 copies on February 10, 2004. 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". Rachel Kipp of JS Online criticized 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.
"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". 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.
"Low", the third single from Thankful, reached number two in Canada, but
it was unable to make the Top 40 of the U.S. chart. The final single "The
Trouble with Love Is" was not released in Canada, and it peaked at #101
on the U.S. Charts. Clarkson attributed the underperformance of both
releases to poor management and relieved her manager Simon Fuller, who
she felt was not completely focused on her career.
2004–2006: BREAKAWAY
Distancing herself from her American Idol image, Clarkson took more
creative control with her second studio album Breakaway, and through
considerable experimentation, developed a rock-oriented image. Her
second album (2004), yielded four U.S. top ten singles and won two
Grammy Awards. The album released by RCA Records on November 30, 2004.
Unlike her previous effort, it debuted within the U.S. top five and
Canadian top ten, and sales were initially low in comparison to Thankful.
However, the single releases from Breakaway proved very successful, and
allowed it to become only the fourth album in history to stay in the
Billboard 200 Top 20 for a consecutive year, as well as, being certified
five-times platinum in the U.S. on January 18, 2006 and 5x platinum in
Canada in May, 2006. With Clarkson's wins at the American Music Awards,
RCA announced Breakaway was certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA. In
Australia, the album reached number two; however, it experienced a
delayed release in the UK. Clarkson co-wrote six of the songs with
several songwriters, such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody
and David Hodges, and producer Max Martin. Breakaway received different
responses from critics; Rolling Stone commented that "on Kelly Clarkson's
second album, [...] she embraces her rock side rather than the pop
pageantry that put her on top of the American Idol heap". TeenInk noted
the strength of her 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". Stylus magazine also
enjoyed Clarkson's foray into rock music, however, she was called out
because of her American Idol image, which reviewer Charles Merwin
believed she had yet to lose. He praised the non-singles and wrote that
they "maintain a quality high". All Music Guide called the album "a nice,
low-key relief".
Clarkson appeared on numerous television programs during the promotional
tour for Breakaway, some of which included Saturday Night Live, The
Oprah Winfrey Show and The View; she performed the first two singles "Breakaway"
and "Since U Been Gone" on Saturday Night Live, which became her first
major telecast appearance in order to support the album.
"Breakaway," written by Avril Lavigne, served as the original song for
The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and achieved
considerable success across the world; it became Clarkson's third
top-ten single in the U.S. and fourth top-ten single in Canada. It
reached number ten in Australia, and number 22 in the UK. 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 ambiance 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".
"Since U Been Gone" (2005) presented Clarkson with a rock
music-influenced sound that had not been heard on her previous efforts.The
third and fourth single releases, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because
of You", also followed with chart success. The video for "Behind These
Hazel Eyes" broke the record for days at #1 for a female artist with 33
out of 50 days #1. "Because Of You" became Clarkson's biggest worldwide
hit, her first to reach the number one position on the world chart show,
where it held for two consecutive weeks (a rare event) in 2006. The
video for "Because of You" won the 2006 MTV Video Music Award for Best
Female Video, her second consecutive win in that category (The first
being from "Since U Been Gone"). The fifth single from Breakaway, "Walk
Away", was a top 20 hit in the U.S. and a top five hit in Canada.
Breakaway was the tenth best selling album of 2006 in the US,
adding nearly 2 million additional sales to the 2005 and 2004 sales. As
a testament to Clarkson's continuing popularity, she was the most-played
artist of 2006 on American radio, despite releasing only one single in
the entire year, "Walk Away". On December 23, 2006, American Top 40
radio show host Ryan Seacrest announced during a countdown of 2006's
most popular songs that Clarkson had had a song in the American Top 40
for 111 weeks, making her "the most successful female artist in AT40
history". She was also the most radio broadcasted artist of 2006 in
Australia and "Because Of You" was the third most broadcast song of the
same year, despite being released in 2005.
In the summer of 2006, Clarkson lent Ford Motor Co. a song titled "Go",
written by Clarkson and Rhett Lawrence ("Miss Independent"). The song is
being used in the company's new advertising campaign, "Bold Moves".
As of 2007, Breakaway has sold over 11 million copies worldwide.
2007-2008: MY DECEMBER
While on tour in Europe in 2006, Clarkson began writing and composing
songs for her third album, My December. During the Addicted Tour,
Clarkson debuted two of her songs: "Maybe" and "Yeah". Recording
commenced on the album in the summer of 2006. The first single from My
December was "Never Again", which made its radio debut on April 13,
2007. The song was released on iTunes on April 20, 2007, but was taken
down and replaced with a notice that said that the song was not
available until April 23, 2007. The single peaked on the Billboard Hot
100 at #8 and on the Pop 100 at #5. Following "Never Again", Clarkson
released "Sober" as her next single from My December on June 6, 2007.
The singles were promoted with appearances on Saturday Night Live and
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Clarkson also returned to American Idol
on the May 23 2007 season six finale for the first time since its third
season, performing "Never Again" and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band" with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry during a Beatles medley.
The song "Chivas" is a hidden track which can be found after the song "Irvine."
Clarkson wrote the song on bar napkins before going to a concert by Los
Angeles based cover band Metal Skool where she was famously seen
drinking a bottle of Chivas Regal in a popular YouTube video when she
was brought on stage to sing with the band.
Clarkson parted with her management, The Firm, on June 11, 2007, after
the controversy surrounding My December. Clarkson would then sign with
Starstruck Entertainment, run by Narvel Blackstock - the husband of Reba
McEntire - on July 2, 2007. On June 14, 2007, Live Nation announced that
Clarkson's summer tour — her first nationwide arena tour—has been
cancelled due to underwhelming ticket sales, to be rescheduled after the
release of the My December album at smaller, more intimate concert
environments.
Clarkson has reinstated plans to tour the US during 2007 - with a much
smaller tour than the one she cancelled in June. Clarkson began her My
December Tour on October 10 in Verona, New York in venues significantly
smaller than those previously booked.
My December was officially released in the U.S. on June 26, 2007. On the
date of the album's release, Clarkson appeared on Good Morning America
to promote her new album. Clarkson performed songs from this new album,
including the single "Never Again". Despite the controversy surrounding
My December, the album debuted at #2 in the U.S. with 291,000 albums
sold. This is a slightly higher debut than Clarkson's previous album,
Breakaway, which debuted at #3.
On July 7, 2007, Clarkson performed on the American leg of Live Earth.
Her five-set performance list included: "Walk Away", "How I Feel", "Never
Again", "Sober", and "Since U Been Gone". In a July edition of USA
Weekend Magazine, Clarkson reported that she tried a marijuana cookie
while in Amsterdam. "It is legal there," she said, saying that she's
never done "anything illegal here [in the U.S.]".
Music Choice deemed Clarkson as their "Artist of the Month" for the month
of August. Justin Prager, Director of Rock and Pop Programming, issued a
public statement: "Kelly's relatively short career has already produced
so much exciting music and she has reached millions of viewers through
her vast catalog of music videos available on Music Choice. We are
looking forward to helping Kelly continue to connect with her fans with
this huge campaign." In light of this, Music Choice released programming
detailing Clarkson's career, including a catalog of her favorite moments
on screen and in production, a question and answer session with her fans,
as well as Clarkson's thoughts on her career.
Clarkson was the celebrity coach for Canadian Idol during its Top 5 week
of the fifth season, aired on the CTV network on August 20th, and she
performed on the results show the next night. She was also awarded a
Platinum Certification for shipments of more than 100,000 copies of My
December in Canada. Clarkson also performed at the 2007
NFL opening kickoff where she sang the national anthem and performed
songs from My December including "Never Again", "Maybe" and "Don't Waste
Your Time". Clarkson also performed in the halftime show for the Dallas
Cowboys and New York Jets game on Thanksgiving day.
My December was certified both gold (500,000 copies shipped) and platinum
(1,000,000 copies shipped) on December 12, 2007 by the RIAA
KELLY AS AN ACTRESS
Before American Idol, Clarkson appeared in Sabrina, The Teenager Witch.
Also before American Idol, Kelly act as Crystal in Issues 101. With the
second place in American Idol, Justin Guarani, Kelly participated in the
movie From Justin To Kelly. The movie was not very sucessful and earned
$5 milion in the North America, less the a half expected.
Clarkson didn't act in many movies and she was shocked when she saw the
script after From Justin To Kelly, she used the contractual obligation
as exclusive reason for her be in the movie.
Biography adapted by Kelly-Clarkson.NET from Wikipedia.org,
please do NOT copy!
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