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Kelly Clarkson Biography

Kelly Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982 in Burleson, Texas to. Jeanne (teacher) and Steven Clarkson. They were divorced when she was six. Her stepfather is Jimmy Taylor (contractor). She has two older siblings, Jason and Alyssa.

Singing was not Kelly’s passion as a child. She loved science and wanted to eventually become a marine biologist (the story goes that she changed her mind after seeing the movie Jaws). Her start in music came while hanging out in school while she was in the seventh grade. A music teacher in her school (Pauline Hughes Middle School) overheard her singing in the hallway and was awestruck. He then persuaded her to join the school’s choir.

This gave her the push to not only perform in the choir, but in High School, she continued singing and also stared in the school’s (Burleson High School) rendition of Brigadoon. She even become a member of the Texas All-State Choir.

By the time she graduated High School in 2000, she became focused on having a career in music. She worked odd jobs to make money to help her pursue her dreams (such as working as a cocktail waitress and a clerk). She eventually recorded a demo CD, but did not receive any positive responses from the record labels.

She knew she had what it takes, and moved to Los Angeles to be where the action is – and closer to her eventual fame.

Her first professional job was not as a singer, but as an extra on the television series Sabrina the Teenage Witch. But she continued to find small jobs to pay the bills while working on her career and networking with people in the industry (like song writer Gerry Goffin (“Natural Woman”)).

In one great swoop, Gerry Gorrin got ill, her car was towed away and her apartment went up in flames. At this point, with her career going nowhere and no money in the bank, she took a step back and returned home to her family. It was back home that a friend told her about auditions for a hit reality show in the Texas area, and she applied for the hit show American Idol.

After getting herself together, she was on a mission to make it in show biz. She soon auditioned for American Idol, and after surviving more auditions, she went back to Hollywood and made it to the finalists on televisions. In September 2002, she was named the winner of American Idol.

She released a single, “A Moment Like This” (which she sung shortly after winning) soon after, and shot up to number one on the Billboard charts the following month. [Note: This was the greatest one-month gain for a single to go to number one]. Following all the excitement, she went on a thirty-city tour with 10 of the other finalists over the next six weeks.

Kelly would not let the momentum stop, and began filming her first movie in 2003, From Justin to Kelly (with Idol runner-up Justin Guarini). As soon as filming was complete (it only took six weeks), she went to the studio to record an album.

Her debut album, Thankful, was released in April 2003 and began on the Billboard Album chart at number one. The album was certified platinum within a few weeks.

The first single released was “Miss Independent” (co-written with Christina Aguilera) and quickly went to #1 on the charts. The video was nominated for three MTV Music Video Awards and a DVD by the same name was releases soon afterwards. Kelly Clarkson was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female for this song.

All the other singles from the album also experienced extremely strong sales. To further promote the album, she went on an international tour starting out in the U.S. and then spanning out to various countries around the world. She even had time to lend her talents to the American Idol Christmas Special.

In 2004, she went out on tour again, this time with former American Idol winner Clay Aiken by her side. She called this the Independent Tour. Afterwards, she added her vocals to the soundtrack of The Princess Diaries 2 with a song called “Breakaway” (co-wrote by Avril Lavigne) The single of the song was another number one song for this young sensation.

In November 2004, her second album, Breakaway debuted on the Billboard charts at the third position.

In 2005, Kelly sung at Superbowl XXXIX (Tailgate Party) and also appeared on Saturday Night Live as a guest and musical performer. Then, this woman who never stops, is still going and finished up a thirty-five city tour around the country.

In February 2007, Clarkson partnered with NASCAR.

Kelly won the Best Female Video and the Best Pop Video awards at the 2005 MTV Music Video Awards in August.

She spent a great deal of 2006 & early 2007 touring.

In 2007, Kelly Clarkson released her third album My December, that became an instant success and was nominated for a Grammy Award

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 one million dollars and a 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, D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial.