Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson | |
|---|---|
| File:KellyClarksonGrammys.jpg Kelly Clarkson performing "Because of You" at the forty-eighth annual Grammy Awards on February 6 2006. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Fort Worth, Texas, United States |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and occasional actress who rose to prominence after winning the first season of the reality-television series American Idol in 2002. Signed to RCA Records, she was initially marketed as a pop musician with her commercially successful debut album Thankful (2003). Clarkson took more creative control over her music and developed a more rock-oriented image for the release of her second album Breakaway (2004), which yielded the highest sales of her career and received two Grammy Awards. Clarkson has released numerous worldwide top-ten singles, and her two albums to date have received platinum certifications in several countries. In late 2004, after the release of her "Breakaway" album, Clarkson signed on with "The Firm", a Hollywood management firm which lists Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lopez among its clients, in order to guide her singing career and manage her public profile.[1] Jeffrey Kwatinetz, CEO of "The Firm" personally handles Clarkson's file.
Biography and music career
Early life
Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas on April 24 1982. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Ann Taylor, a first grade English teacher of Greek descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer of Welsh extraction. Clarkson's siblings include her older brother Jason, and her older sister Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents separated after seventeen years of marriage; her brother went to live with her father and Clarkson and her sister remained with their mother. Following the separation, Clarkson frequently moved around Texas while their mother managed several occupations in order to support the family. Being six-years-old at the time, Clarkson did not understand why her family had been constantly moving and said that children usually do not comprehend the process of divorce. Eventually, the family settled in Burleson, Texas and Clarkson's mother subsequently remarried to Jimmy Taylor.
Clarkson attended Pauline Hughes Middle School when she reached seventh grade. She had originally wanted to become a marine biologist, but during the same school year, a teacher overheard her singing in a restroom and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson was pleased to receive the compliment and noted that she had never received professional vocal training before. She attended Burleson High School following middle school and began performing in musicals such as Brigadoon.
Upon graduation, Clarkson worked several occupations to finance her demo CD that she had been hoping to market toward record labels. She received few responses though, and she eventually decided to move to Hollywood to seek out other opportunities in music. However, early attempts went unnoticed and Clarkson wound up appearing as an extra on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch to make ends-meet. After her apartment was burned down in a fire, disappointed, she returned to Texas. In order to make a living, Clarkson worked at a cinema, as a cocktail waitress, telemarketer, and a Red Bull promoter.
American Idol
Upon returning to Burleson, many of Clarkson's friends encouraged her to audition for the 2002 début of the reality television program American Idol. Entering the competition alongside ten thousand others, the judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were impressed with her voice. She 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 her a top ten position. Other songs Clarkson performed on American Idol include Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman", Mariah Carey's "Without You", and Céline Dion's "I Surrender".
Clarkson had made it to the final two contestants on American Idol, and on September 4 2002, she won the competition, earning 58% of the audience vote over Justin Guarini.[1] 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 her début 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-record on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when it rose from number fifty-two to number one.[2] 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.;[3] the single spent five weeks at number one in Canada.
Thankful
Clarkson's first single, "A Moment Like This", was released in October 2002 and quickly became a number one hit in the U.S. and Canada, and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over one million copies. Her second single, "Miss Independent" (which Clarkson co-wrote with producer Rhett Lawrence), was released to radio in March 2003, one month before her album. It rose to number one for six weeks at Top 40 radio in the U.S. and was a top ten hit in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK. In order to fuel album sales, a commercial single was not available in the U.S. Clarkson also received a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Miss Independent". Her debut album, Thankful, was release by RCA Records on April 15 2003, entered the Billboard 200 chart at number one, and was certified double platinum in the U.S. the following month (and platinum in Canada). Thankful included four tracks co-written by Clarkson. The album received good reviews, though criticized Clarkson's music for being too commercial. All Music Guide wrote of Clarkson and the album: "Throughout this record, she makes it seem effortless and charming. [Clarkson] can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door".
Subsequent singles "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is" were far less successful, fueling speculation amongst music critics that "A Moment Like This" and "Miss Independent" were fluke hits. They wrote Clarkson off as an Idol product and said that she would be incapable of establishing her independence in the music industry. Clarkson starred with fellow American Idol contestant Justin Guarini in the film From Justin to Kelly, which was released in the summer of 2003. The film received weak reviews, with some critics naming it one of the worst films ever made, and was a box office disaster.Rumors were spread that Justin and Kelly dated at this time, but Kelly says that these rumors were incorrect and that "I am flattered that people think that I could get Justin. He's hot." The two stars revealed that their work in the film was stipulated in their Idol contracts. When asked in a February 2006 Time Magazine article why she made From Justin to Kelly, Clarkson responded "Two words:contractually obligated."
In September 2003, Clarkson appeared on NBC's American Dreams as Brenda Lee, and performed the song, "Sweet Nothings". In December 2003, Clarkson participated in the World Idol competition, eventually placing second to Norwegian Idol winner Kurt Nilsen. In 2004, Clarkson embarked on the thirty-city "Independent Tour" with fellow Idol contestant Clay Aiken.
Breakaway
In the summer of 2004, Clarkson returned to the music industry with the single "Breakaway", from the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which became her biggest hit in the U.S. since her debut single. It preceded Clarkson's pop rock, Adult contemporary and rock and roll–influenced second album, Breakaway, released in the U.S. on November 30 2004. Clarkson, who co-wrote over half of the album's tracks with songwriters and producers such as Max Martin, singer Avril Lavigne, and former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, categorized the album as being in the pop rock genre, unlike Thankful. Breakaway received praise from critics, who noted its harder, more rock and roll-flavored edge, one that invited comparisons to Avril Lavigne. In an effort to promote her new album, Kelly blanketed the airways with performances of The Tonight Show, The View and Saturday Night Live. Breakaway (the album) received a fifth U.S. platinum certification (five million shipped) in January 2006 and was 2005's third best-selling album. It became her first platinum album in the UK (later receiving the triple platinum award and selling over a million copies) and was also was certified quadruple platinum in Canada and six times platinum in Australia. In Indonesia, she is the 2nd artist, after Britney Spears, in Indonesian chart history to have four number-one singles from the same album. Breakaway spent 61 weeks in the top 20, becoming only the 4th album to spend over a year in the top 20 in SoundScan history. Clarkson was named by Teen People magazine as one of the "Hottest 25 Stars Under 25". On 8 February 2006 Clarkson received two Grammy Awards: one for best pop vocal performance ("Since U Been Gone") and one for Best Pop Vocal Album. She performed the song "Because of You".
The album's second single "Since U Been Gone" peaked at number two on the U.S. Hot 100 (and was successful on the majority of Billboard formats), was a top five single in the UK and reached number one in Canada. It has become Clarkson's biggest hit to date and one of the biggest singles of 2005, was nominated for the Record of the Year award in the UK, and won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In the Village Voice annual critics poll, it placed third on a list of the year's best singles. Blender magazine named it the #1 song of 2005. Subsequent singles "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You" both reached the U.S. top ten and the Canadian top five, and the latter was one of the most requested songs on teen radio in 2005. With "Because of You," Clarkson became the first pop artist since Beyonce to have four top-ten hits from the same album. In Canada, Clarkson became one of the few international artists to have four top-five hits from the same album. "Walk Away" was the fifth single released from Breakaway.
Relationships
She began dating Graham Colton, according to Seventeen magazine, after the two met on tour. In February 2006, Clarkson told German magazine Bravo that they had split because of time apart, but said they would remain friends and might date again later.[2]
Discography
Concert tours
Awards and nominations
Notes
- ^ The Amazing Kelly Clarkson. Angelfire.com. Retrieved February 12 2006.
- ^ UltimateKC.com. Kelly Clarkson fan listing and awards. Accomplishments — biggest jump on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, from 52 to 1. Retrieved February 12 2006.
- ^ Kelly Clarkson – Timeline. ARC Weekly Top 40 information. Rock on the Net. Retrieved February 12 2006.
References
- Jenkins, Debi. Profile of Kelly Clarkson – From Burleson, Texas to American Idol (2003). Local Celebrity. Retrieved February 11 2006.
- "Dealing with Divorce". J-14 Magazine. ("Kelly Clarkson knows what it's like to be from a broken home.")
- "Hooman interviews Kelly". KLLC Radio Alice 97.3. May 25 2005. Retrieved February 11 2006. ("[Clarkson's] parents were together for seventeen years, and then all of a sudden, something went wrong".)
- Phares, Heather. "Kelly Clarkson – Biography". All Music Guide. Retrieved February 11 2006.
- Lamb, Bill. "Kelly Clarkson – Profile". About.com. Retrieved February 11 2006.
- "Kelly Clarkson Biography". Sing365.com. Retrieved February 11 2006.
- Phares, Heather. "Kelly Clarkson – Biography". Yahoo LAUNCHcast. Retrieved February 11 2006.
- Wikipedia contributors (2006). List of songs performed on American Idol. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:25, February 12, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_performed_on_American_Idol.
- (2002). Top40-Charts.com. International charting information. Retrieved from http://top40-charts.com on February 12 2006.
External links
- KellyClarkson.com — official website.
- Kelly Clarkson at All Music Guide.
- Kelly Clarkson at Rock on the Net.
- Kelly Clarkson at the Internet Movie Database.