Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson
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 lucrative recording career. She has had five top-ten United States singles, including three number-one radio hits, and two top-five albums.
Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas to parents of Greek, Irish, and German descent. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, after which her brother went to live with their father, her sister with their aunt, and Clarkson with her mother. She eventually 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 still managed some odd jobs such 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 others.
Clarkson performing on Idol
Clarkson auditioned for American Idol along with ten thousand other people in 2002. Impressed by her performance, 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.
Thankful — April 15, 2003
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.
Clarkson also covered the overnight show 3-6am at 97.6 Chiltern FM in Luton, England.
Breakaway — November 30, 2004
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", have all received widespread airplay in several different radio formats and made it well into the Billboard Hot 100 top-ten, 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 fourteen in its seventh week. The song has also currently peaked at number twenty-nine in Canada.
"Behind These Hazel Eyes" CD
single cover
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 (and the only one having released 2 mainstream CDs yet), 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.
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."
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 minor 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.
2002: The American Idol Tour
2004: The Independent Tour, co-headlining with Clay Aiken
2005: The Breakaway Spring Tour
2005: The Hazel Eyes Summer Tour
2005: The Addicted World Tour
"A Moment Like This" CD
single cover
Kelly has many hit singles and her brand new one, "Because Of You" has already begun to top the charts.
| Date | Video | Director | TRL Stats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2002 | "Before Your Love" | Antti Jokinen | 13
days (1 at #1) |
Kelly's first official video, featured and world premiered on MTV's Making the Video. |
| October 2002 | "A Moment Like This" | Antti Jokinen | 19
days (1 at #1) |
Features clips of Clarkson's winning moment on American Idol. |
| May 2003 | "Miss Independent" | Liz Friedlander | 50
days (14 at #1) |
Nominated
for Best New Artist in a Video, Best Pop Video, and
Viewer's Choice at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Clarkson's first video to be retired from the TRL countdown. |
| August 2003 | "Low" | Antti Jokinen | 26
days (4 at #1) |
First video to feature Clarkson singing with a live band. |
| November 2003 | "The Trouble with Love Is" | Bryan Barber | 22
days (0 at #1) |
Soundtrack video for Love Actually |
| Date | Video | Director | TRL Stats | VH1 Stats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2004 | "Breakaway" | Dave Meyers | 23
days (0 at #1) |
7
weeks (0 at #1) |
Soundtrack video for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement |
| November 2004 | "Since U Been Gone" | Alex De Rakoff | 43
days (6 at #1) |
14
weeks (1 at #1) |
Won
for Best Female Video and Best Pop Video at the 2005 MTV
Video Music Awards. Video was produced by Santa Monica-based production company FM Rocks. |
| May 2005 | "Behind These Hazel Eyes" | Joseph Kahn | 50
days (33 at #1) |
11
weeks (0 at #1) |
Clarkson
is credited with writing the complete original treatment
for the video, which underwent very few edits and was happily executed by director Joseph Kahn. The exterior forest scenes for "Behind These Hazel Eyes" were done in one of the largest indoor sets ever built for a music video. All interior gothic cathedral scenes were filmed in Ontario, Canada. Set a record on TRL for the most days at number one by a solo female artist. Clarkson's second video to be retired from the TRL countdown. |
| September 2005 | "Because of You" | Vadim Perelman | 2
days (2 at #1) |
— | Filmed
in Irvine, California. "Because of You" marks the second time in which Clarkson has submitted her own treatment for a video. World Premiered on TRL on Monday, October 3, 2005. "Because of You" became Clarkson's first video to debut at number one on TRL. |
Kelly accepting her award for Best Female Video at the
2005 MTV Video Music Awards
American Music Awards
ASCAP Pop Music Awards
AOL Awards
BDS Certified Spin Award
Billboard Music Awards
Grammy Awards
Latin Grammy Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
New Music Weekly Awards
Radio Music Awards
Teen Choice Awards
World Music Awards