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Kelly Clarkson Biography
Name : Kelly Clarkson
Birth Date : April 24, 1982
Birth Place : Burleson, Texas, USA
Birth Name : Kelly Brianne Clarkson
Nationality : American
Profession : Actress
Claim to fame : 2003 American Idol Winner
Kelly Clarkson Detailed Biography
The winner of Fox TV's first American Idol: The Search for a Superstar competition, during the summer of 2002 Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous talent to a nationally known singer performing for an audience of millions of viewers. One of the show's most naturally gifted singers, the 20 year-old Burleson, TX native's vocal talents were discovered when she was in seventh grade, when her school's choir teacher heard her singing and urged Clarkson to join the choir. After high school, Clarkson cultivated her voice and went to Hollywood to make her name; she appeared as an extra on an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch but no other opportunities materialized. Upon returning to Burleson, Clarkson worked at a movie theater, promoted Red Bull energy drinks and ultimately worked as a cocktail waitress at a comedy club before entering the American Idol contest.
One of 10,000 aspiring singers, Clarkson distinguished herself not only with her big, surprisingly mature voice, but also with her down-to-earth charm and sense of humor: at one of her auditions, she switched places with judge Randy Jackson, who did an impromptu version of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly." Over the course of the 13-week show, her consistently strong performances of songs like "Respect," "Natural Woman," "Stuff Like That There" and "Without You" earned Clarkson enough audience votes to claim one of the contest's two finalist positions. After singing "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love," both of which were written for the show, Clarkson won the American Idol contest with 58 percent of the audience's votes. In addition to the show's prize of a $1 million recording contract with RCA, Clarkson secured a deal with Creative Artists Agency and several bookings, including the national American Idol tour and a performance of the national anthem at the September 11 commemoration at Washington, DC's Lincoln Memorial.
Despite her newfound fame, Clarkson opted to remain in Texas rather than move to New York or Los Angeles. Her first single, A Moment Like This, was released just two weeks after she won the contest and quickly earned platinum sales. Clarkson's self-titled full-length album -- which was rumored to include a duet with the contest's runner-up, curly-haired heartthrob Justin Guarini -- was released in spring of 2003, just in time to coincide with the second season of American Idol and right before the American Idol movie, From Justin to Kelly.
Kelly Clarkson Biography 2
Who would have guessed that small town sweetheart Kelly Clarkson would eventually grow up and become one of America's brightest stars?
Certainly, not Kelly!
As a child growing up in Burleson, Texas, singing was far from her choice career.
Kelly wanted to become a marine biologist.
Lucky for the rest of the world, she quickly changed her mind upon seeing "Jaws," because it was only a matter of time before her true talent and passion were unveiled for the rest of the world to see.
Kelly's innate singing ability was first discovered in 7th grade after her junior high choral director heard her singing in the school hallway and encouraged her to sign up for the school choir. Up until that point, Kelly was considering joining the band!
Kelly immersed herself in choral activities throughout high school, starring in musicals ("Brigadoon"), performing overseas, and earning top honors as a member of the Texas All-State Choir.
Upon graduation, Kelly solidified her committment to music, working numerous jobs to finance her demo CD and market herself to record labels. Frustrated with the lack of results and unopened mail, she made her way to Los Angeles along with a friend, hoping for the best.
While in L.A., she found odd jobs to help make ends meet and wound up getting a role as an extra on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
After answering a newspaper ad, she coincidentally hooked up with famed songwriter Gerry Goffin (("You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman") through a mutual friend and began recording vocal demos of his songs. Little did Kelly know that the same song Goffin was famous for, would later provide her with a moment of clarity as she worked to achieve her dream.
Kelly's stay in Los Angeles was tragically cut short after Goffin grew ill, her apartment burned down, and her car got towed. Both emotionally and financially, Kelly was drained.
She turned home to recuperate and re-energize herself before heading back to L.A. Shortly thereafter, her best friend, Jessica, presented her with paperwork for American Idol, FOX Television's national talent search competition/television show.
Already jaded from an earlier stint on the WB's Popstars, Kelly was semi-reluctant, but signed the paperwork and went to the audition, hoping for the best.
Before you could say "You're going to Hollywood," Kelly was there.
After dozens of auditions, she found herself centerstage, among the top 30 contestants, and live on national television.
Belting out an energized rendition of Aretha Franklin's "Respect," she captured the hearts (and votes) of people from all over the United States and advanced to the top 10 finals.
Week after week, Kelly quietly gained ground, rising above the competition, enduring a whirlwind promotional calendar, in addition to the responsibility of preparing live performances every week.
She was later provided with moment of clarity toward the middle of the competition.
When asked what the greatest thing to come out of the American Idol experience was, Kelly said, "the best moment for me was when I realized that I actually really wanted this. This is a public life now, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that part of it...The defining point was during my performance of "Natural Woman." I was on stage and the crowd was just going crazy, and I was like, I think I can do this."
It may have took Kelly a while to realize that she could handle it, but the American public showed no hesitation in casting their votes and naming Kelly Clarkson their American Idol on September 4, 2002.
Moments later, she took to the stage for an emotional performance of her first single, "A Moment Like This," capping off the competition and reminding millions of viewers why they tuned into the show week after week--to watch people's dreams come true: "Oh I can't believe it's happening to me/Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this."
On October 5th, 2002, "A Moment Like This," shot straight from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, eclipsing the 38-year record of "biggest leap to No. 1," previously held by the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love," which went from No. 27 to No. 1 in 1964.
Her full-length solo debut is slated for March 4, 2003, and already, Kelly is attracting famed songwriters and producers like Diane Warren and the team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey). Kelly also has a desire to showcase her songwriting skills on her solo album as well.
A No. 1 song, legions of fans, and an inner-drive that is unparalleled, Kelly Clarkson is on her way.
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 10 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".
Song Performances on American Idol:
Original Audition: "Express Yourself" (Madonna) and "At Last" (Glenn Miller) (original Dallas audition)
Top 121: "Respect" (Aretha Franklin) (Hollywood round 1)
Top 65: "I Say a Little Prayer" (Dionne Warwick) (Hollywood round 2)
Top 45: "Save The Best For Last" (Vanessa Williams) (Hollywood 3)
Top 30: "Respect" (Aretha Franklin) (semi-final group 2)
Top 10: "All I Need" (Diana Ross) (Motown week)
Top 8: "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin, Carole King)(1960's week)
Top 7: "Don't Play That Song" (Aretha Franklin) (1970's week)
Top 6: "Stuff Like That There" (Betty Hutton) (Big Band week)
Top 5: "Walk on By" (Dionne Warwick) (Love song week)
Top 4: "It's Raining Men" (Weather Girls) (1980's & 1990's week) (top 2)
Top 4: "I Surrender" (Celine Dion) (1980's & 1990's week) (top 2)
Top 3: "Think Twice" (Celine Dion) (Judge's week) (top 2)
Top 3: "Without You" (Badfinger) (Judge's week) (top 2)
Top 2: "Respect" (Aretha Franklin) (Finale week) (winner)
Top 2: "Before Your Love" (Kelly Clarkson) (Finale week) (winner's single) (Crowned as American Idol) (winner)
Top 2: "A Moment Like This" (Kelly Clarkson) (Finale week) (winner's single) (Crowned as American Idol) (winner)
Finale: "A Moment Like This" (Kelly Clarkson) (Crowned as American Idol)
Awards and Nominations
Grammy Awards
2004: Nominated - Best Female Pop Vocal Performance - "Miss Independent"
2006: Won - Best Female Pop Vocal Performance - "Since U Been Gone"
2006: Won - Best Pop Vocal Album - Breakaway
Billboard Music Awards
2003: Won - Best Selling Single of the Year - "A Moment Like This"
2005: Nominated - Artist of the Year
2005: Nominated - Hot 100 Song of the Year - "Since U Been Gone"
2005: Nominated - Digital Song of the Year - "Since U Been Gone"
MTV Video Music Awards
2003: Nominated - Best New Artist - "Miss Independent"
2003: Nominated - Best Pop Video - "Miss Independent"
2003: Nominated - Viewers Choice - "Miss Independent"
2005: Won - Best Pop Video - "Since U Been Gone"
2005: Won - Best Female Video - "Since U Been Gone"
2005: Nominated - Viewers Choice - "Since U Been Gone"
2006: Won - Best Female Video - "Because of You"
2006: Nominated - Viewers Choice - "Because of You"
People's Choice Awards
2005: Won - Favorite Female Performer
American Music Awards
2003: Nominated - Best New Artist
2005: Won - Adult Contemporary Artist
2005: Won - Artist Of The Year
2006: Won - Favorite Pop/Rock Female
2006: Won - Adult Contemporary Artist
Sources : sing365.com, netglimse.com, wikipedia.org
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