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KELLY CLARKSON Biography (Brief) :
 The winner of Fox TV's first American Idol competition during the summer of 2002, Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous talent to a nationally known singer in a matter of months, performing for an audience of millions. One of the show's most naturally gifted singers, the affable Texan then went on to enjoy a successful pop career, with only Carrie Underwood rivaling her as American Idol's most commercial export.
Kelly Clarkson was born in Forth Worth and raised in Burleson, TX, and her vocal talents were discovered in seventh grade, when a music teacher heard her voice and urged Clarkson to join the school choir. After high school, she opted to skip college 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.
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 debut full-length, Thankful, 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). Breakaway followed in late 2004 and was a huge success, selling over five million copies (making it the third best-selling album of 2005) and spawning the hit singles "Because of You," "Behind These Hazel Eyes," and the enormously popular "Since U Been Gone." That song and Breakaway earned Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album, respectively, at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in early 2006. Kelly Clarkson continued her busy touring schedule into the summer and announced plans for her third album after the tour.
 Kelly Clarkson released My December, the studio follow-up to Breakaway, in 2007. Notable as Clarkson's first foray into songwriting, My December featured a darker, more rock-oriented edge than its predecessor and even featured a guest appearance by punk icon bassist Mike Watt. However, label exec Clive Davis openly disapproved of the album's direction, claiming that it lacked the commercial appeal of Breakaway. A public feud ensued, and Clarkson was dealt another blow when poor ticket sales resulted in the cancellation of her upcoming tour. The leadoff single "Never Again" nevertheless became a Top Ten pop hit, and My December climbed its way to platinum status by the year's end.
Kelly Clarkson returned to the top of the charts in early 2009, when the sugary single "My Life Would Suck Without You" set a record for the largest leap to number one. Composed by songwriting vets Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald, and Claude Kelly, the song also set the stage for her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, whose pop-minded material was mostly produced by OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide ... Source ...
More About KELLY CLARKSON
On September 4th, 2002, Kelly Clarkson became the first winner of American Idol — - a slightly dubious honor at the time, but one that allowed the Burleson, Texas, native to become among the best-selling solo performers of the '00s, and to later become an unlikely symbol for artistic independence in a tightly controlled major-label climate. Clarkson was born on April 24th, 1982, and turned to music as a child to escape the drama of her parents' two divorces. Her vocal talents were discovered in school, and she joined the choir and performed in musicals and talent shows. After high school, she eschewed college to try songwriting, supporting herself with a variety of jobs (she was working as a waitress when she auditioned for Idol).
 Clarkson's first hit single, the Idol-provided "A Moment Like This," was exactly the sort of treacly by-the-numbers ballad critics expected of a TV-contest winner; that's probably why its assertive follow-up, "Miss Independent," was such a surprise, as was much of her debut album, Thankful (Number One, 2003). Though the songwriting credits nearly run off the page (Diane Warren, Babyface and Christina Aguilera all contributed material), Clarkson avoided the wailing melisma that affected many of her peers, instead channeling the soul and she grew up emulating (many of her chosen Idol numbers were Aretha Franklin covers).
Following a much-maligned, contractually obligated teen-exploitation movie, From Justin to Kelly, co-starring Idol runner-up Justin Guarini, Clarkson released Breakaway (Number Three, 2004), her best-selling effort to date, thanks in no small part to "Since U Been Gone," a searing kiss-off that found Clarkson a following among clubgoers (a dance remix could be heard for months throughout Europe) and typically Idol-averse indie rockers and bloggers. It was one of five singles from Breakaway, which also yielded the similarly anthemic "Walk Away" and the ballads "Because of You," "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and the title track. The album sold more than 6 million copies in the United States and won Clarkson two Grammys.
The folksy image Kelly Clarkson put forth while promoting Breakaway made the events surrounding her third album, My December (Number Two, 2007) surprising. After the success of Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson broke with her management team (which was overseen by Idol creator Simon Fuller) and signed with the Firm, a talent company best known for working with the likes of Korn and Limp Bizkit; she also began collaborating with her band on more of her own material, much of which was darker than anything on the poppy Breakaway.
Months before December's release, Clarkson and then-RCA head Clive Davis began feuding in the press: Davis wanted more singles, while Clarkson wanted more say over her material (and, presumably, less Clive). The resulting fracas resulted in Clarkson dismissing her new management team, canceling an arena tour over slow sales and asserting an independent-woman stance in interviews. By the time she released "Never Again" — another searing kiss-off, though this time with a less approachable chorus — Clarkson had inadvertently been transformed from an amiable down-home gal to a certified tough cookie, though not even that could help December from becoming the least commercially successful album of her career (it was certified platinum in December 2007). In the wake of her December experience, Kelly Clarkson began embracing her country roots. She dueted with Reba McEntire on her own "Because of You" (the collaboration, which appeared on McEntire's duets album, was nominated for a Grammy), and in January 2008 the two embarked on a joint tour called 2 Worlds, 2 Voices. ...Source...
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