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Kelly Clarkson is an American Idol winner who went on to record several top ten hits including "Breakaway," "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You."
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Kelly Clarkson - Full Episode (45:38)
Kelly Clarkson - Full Episode
The full biography of music sensation Kelly Clarkson.
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Play NowKelly Clarkson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 08:33, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602.
Kelly Clarkson. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Kelly Clarkson." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 08:33 http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602.
"Kelly Clarkson," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Kelly Clarkson," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Kelly Clarkson [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602.
Kelly Clarkson, http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Kelly Clarkson. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Kelly Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2002, she won the first season of American Idol, the prize for which was a million-dollar RCA record contract. Her first single, "A Moment Like This," jumped from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and her first album earned two Grammy Awards. Clarkson continues to record and perform.
Early Life
Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas. Clarkson graduated from Burleson High School in 2000, where she sang in the school choir. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career.
Supporting herself with numerous odd jobs, Kelly Clarkson made a few television appearances and eventually landed a job working as a female vocalist with songwriter Gerry Goffin. Unfortunately, a bout of bad luck discouraged her and she returned to Texas shortly thereafter. In 2002, a friend told her about a new talent search show on Fox called American Idol, and Clarkson became one of 10,000 contestants.
American Idol Winner
After grueling rounds of televised eliminations, and critical evaluations by judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, Kelly Clarkson prevailed against Justin Guarini to become the first winner of the hit contest on September 4, 2002. Her official prize was a million-dollar RCA record contract; the unofficial prize a considerable amount of fame and notoriety.
The following month, her first single, "A Moment Like This," went from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. In 2003, she made her feature film debut in the forgettable From Justin to Kelly. Fortunately, her first album fared much better than her movie. Thankful was a hit based in part because of the smash single, "Miss Independent." And Clarkson went on to establish herself as a leading rock performer with her second album, Breakaway (2004). The album spawned several big hits, including "Since U Been Gone," "Breakaway," "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Walk Away." It also earned Clarkson two Grammy Awards in 2005: one for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone" and another for Best Pop Vocal Album—an award she shared with producer Clive Davis and engineer/mixer Serban Ghenea.
Career Difficulties
After selling millions of records, Clarkson was under a lot of pressure to keep the hits coming. But she wanted to try something different. Clarkson did not use professional songwriters as she had in the past and filled the record with songs that she co-wrote. The result led to a clash with Clive Davis, over the album, My December (2007), after he suggested it needed to reworked. Davis expressed concern that there were no singles on the album and others indicated that its overall tone was too negative. But Clarkson refused to change what she considered to be a very personal recording.
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