Kelly Clarkson!

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is a Grammy-Winning American pop and rock singer-songwriter, and occasional actress. Clarkson made Kelly Carkson's debut under RCA Records after Kelly Carkson won the highly-publicized first season of the television series American Idol in 2002. Kelly Carkson was originally marketed as a pop musician with Kelly Carkson's debut album Thankful (2003), which yielded Kelly Carkson's first and only U.S. number-one single. As a result of Kelly Carkson's contract with American Idol, Clarkson has even made a foray into film with the release of From Justin to Kelly (2003) with runner-up Justin Guarini.

Distancing herself from Kelly Carkson's American Idol image, Clarkson took more creative control, and through considerable experimentation, developed a rock-oriented image for the release of Kelly Carkson's second album Breakaway (2004), which yielded four U.S. top-ten singles and won two Grammy Awards. While on tour in Europe in 2006, Clarkson began writing and composing songs for Kelly Carkson's third album which Kelly Carkson will release in early 2007.

Kelly Clarkson Biography

Clarkson in an undated yearbook photograph aired on E! True Hollywood Story.Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas on April 24, 1982, and grew up in a small town. Kelly Carkson is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Ann Taylor (n'e Rose), a first grade English teacher of Greek descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of Welsh extraction. Clarkson's siblings include Kelly Carkson's brother Jason, and Kelly Carkson's sister Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, Kelly Carkson's parents split up after seventeen years of marriage; Kelly Carkson's brother went to live with Kelly Carkson's father, Kelly Carkson's sister went to live with an aunt, and Clarkson remained with Kelly Carkson's mother. Following the separation, Clarkson frequently moved around Texas while Kelly Carkson's mother managed several professions in order to support the family. Clarkson has since stated that, being six years old at the time, Kelly Carkson did not understand why Kelly Carkson's family had been constantly moving. When it would rain, Kelly Carkson has since remarked, Kelly Carkson would sit and stare at the window. Eventually, the family settled in Burleson, Texas where Clarkson's mother married Kelly Carkson's second husband, Jimmy Taylor.

Clarkson attended Pauline Hughes Middle School when Kelly Carkson reached seventh grade. Kelly Carkson had originally wanted to become a marine biologist, but during the same school year, a teacher overheard Kelly Carkson's singing in a hallway and asked Kelly Carkson's to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told the teacher that Kelly Carkson had never received professional vocal training before. Following middle school, Kelly Carkson attended Burleson High School and performed in musicals such as Brigadoon.

Upon graduation in 2000, Clarkson worked several occupations to finance Kelly Carkson's demo CD that Kelly Carkson had been hoping to market toward record labels. Kelly Carkson received few responses though, 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 played a small role in the film Issues 101, which was released in 2002. Following four months in Hollywood, Clarkson was discouraged and returned to Texas, where Kelly Carkson worked at a cinema, and as a cocktail waitress, telemarketer and a Red Bull promoter.

Kelly Clarkson American Idol

Once Clarkson returned to Burleson, several of Kelly Carkson's friends encouraged Kelly Carkson's to audition for the 2002 debut of the reality television program American Idol. Kelly Carkson entered the competition with ten thousand others, and the judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were impressed with Kelly Carkson's voice. Kelly Carkson earned a position in the top thirty 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 Kelly Carkson's a top ten 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 C'line Dion's "I Surrender".

Kelly Clarkson performed at the Washington D.C. Lincoln Memorial on September 11, 2002 following Kelly Carkson's win on American Idol.Clarkson had made it to the final two on American Idol, and on September 4, 2002, Kelly Carkson 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 Kelly Carkson's 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 number-one there.

Shortly 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, Kelly Carkson was cleared of all allegations, as Kelly Carkson had only had a contract in order to conduct demonstration work.

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. Kelly Carkson performed Aretha Franklin's "A Natural Woman". Because Kelly Carkson left immediately after the competition, Kelly Carkson was chided by some in the media for what they saw as poor sportsmanship.

Kelly Clarkson 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 both the U.S. Billboard 200 and Canadian albums chart. 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 Kelly Carkson's early success was established due to Kelly Carkson's 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. Kelly Carkson can croon, Kelly Carkson can belt out a song, Kelly Carkson 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 Kelly Carkson 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.

The third single taken from Thankful "Low" reached number two in Canada, but was unable to make the top forty of the U.S. chart. The final single "The Trouble with Love Is" yielded low peak positions on both charts. Clarkson attributed the underperformance of both releases to poor management and relieved Kelly Carkson's manager Simon Fuller, whom Kelly Carkson felt was not completely focused on Kelly Carkson's career.

Kelly Clarkson 2004 2006 Breakaway

"Because of You" (2005) At the age of sixteen, Clarkson wrote the lyrics to this song to cope with Kelly Carkson's emo kid angst. The later composition would result in the use of the piano and a full orchestral arrangement.

During the promotional tour of Breakaway (2004), Clarkson appeared on Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.Clarkson's second studio album Breakaway was released by RCA Records on November 30, 2004. Unlike Kelly Carkson's 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 quadruple platinum in Canada on September 29, 2005. 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, producer Max Martin, and Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. Breakaway received different responses from critics; Rolling Stone commented that "on her second album, Kelly Carkson embraces Kelly Carkson's rock side rather than the pop pageantry that put Kelly Carkson's on top of the American Idol heap". TeenInk noted the strength of Kelly Carkson's vocals on Breakaway, and praised the change from pop music to contemporary rock: "Clarkson retains the incredible power and beauty of Kelly Carkson's voice while switching to rock". Stylus magazine also enjoyed Clarkson's foray into rock music, however, Kelly Carkson was called out because of Kelly Carkson's American Idol image, which reviewer Charles Merwin believed Kelly Carkson 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; Kelly Carkson performed the first two singles "Breakaway" and "Since U Been Gone" on Saturday Night Live, which became Kelly Carkson's first major telecast appearance in order to support the album.

"Breakaway" 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, however, is only receiving a UK release at present. 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 Kelly Carkson's first Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance"; Kelly Carkson 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 Kelly Carkson's previous efforts.The third and fourth single releases "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You" also followed with chart success. Breakaway's fifth single "Walk Away" climbed to the U.S. top-twenty and the Canadian BDS top-five. It is also the track which uses Kelly's full vocal range.

Billboard has reported that Clarkson will be unveiling new tracks from Kelly Carkson's upcoming album on the Addicted U.S. tour. The album is set for release sometime in early 2007, with an unconfirmed date. Co-written by Clarkson and producer Rhett Lawrence, "Go", a possible new song for the album, is currently featured in a commercial and advertising campaign for the Ford Motor Company. The Ford Kelly Site has premiered a music video for "Go" (primary featuring vehicles instead of Clarkson) on the site on July 10th and can be viewed on The Ford Kelly site. The full studio version was leaked online in June of 2006.

Three possible new songs from Kelly Carkson's upcoming CD reportedly to be released in February 2007 were unveiled in the first concert of the Addicted Tour, including "Maybe," "Anymore," and "Yeah", in which "Maybe" appears to be the most popular.

Clarkson will headline Kelly Carkson's first HBO concert event next February. Kelly Carkson will perform Kelly Carkson's greatest hits as well as material from Kelly Carkson's third album.

Kelly Clarkson Acting Career

This section is a stub. You can help by adding to it. Clarkson appeared as a non-speaking extra in season 5 of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Kelly Carkson also starred with Idol runner-up Justin Guarini in the movie From Justin to Kelly. The film was poorly received by critics and viewers. Clarkson has not taken any acting roles since, and says she's shocked people send Kelly Carkson's scripts after From Justin to Kelly.

Kelly Clarkson Discography

Thankful (2003)
Breakaway (2004)

Singles Stats All regularly released singles and their chart peak position: USA (U.S.), United
Kingdom (UK), Canada (CAN), Australia (AUS), Ireland (IR), Germany (GE) and the World Chart Show (WCS).

Kelly Clarkson Year Title Chart positions

U.S UK CAN AUS IR GE WCS
2002 "A Moment Like This/Before Your Love" 1 - 1 - - - 16
2003 "Miss Independent" 9 6 6 3 11 52 7
2003 "Low" 58 35 2 11 - - -
2004 "The Trouble With Love Is" 101 35 - 11 - 42 -
2004 "Breakaway" 6 22 10 10 12 - 10
2005 "Since U Been Gone" 2 5 1 3 4 6 2
2005 "Behind These Hazel Eyes" 6 9 4 6 - 16 3
2005 "Because Of You" 7 7 2 4 5 4 1
2006 "Walk Away" 12 21 4 27 10 - 8