Kelly Clarkson

From ArticleWorld

Kelly Clarkson was born April 24, 1982 in Fort Worth, Texas. She is the youngest child of three. She has an older brother named Jason and an older sister named Alyssa. Her parents separated when she was six years old and she went to live with her mother. Her brother lived with her father and her sister moved in with an aunt. She and her mother settled in Burleson, Texas and her mother remarried. While in high school, Kelly performed in school musicals.

Hollywood and American Idol

After graduating high school, Kelly moved to Hollywood so she could jump-start her singing career. Her first attempts failed. Getting nowhere, Kelly moved back home after a fire burned down her apartment. She worked numerous jobs to support herself. Clarkson worked as a waitress, a Red Bull promoter, and a telemarketer. Her friends convinced her to try out for the new reality television show American Idol. Kelly made it to the top thirty finalists and sang every week for the top spot. Every week she was voted through and was crowned the American Idol on September 2, 2002. She sang the song A Moment Like This that would appear on her debut album, Thankful. The single debuted at 52 but rose to number one after just one week; a record breaking climb.

Breakaway

Clarkson's second album, Breakaway, had a harder edge than her first album. Critics took notice and lauded her efforts. The album has outsold her first and has gone platinum in the United States five times over. In 2006, she received two Grammy Awards. The first was for Best Pop Vocal Performance (Since You've Been Gone) and the second was for Best Pop Vocal Album. She has released five singles for the album. She was the first pop artist since Beyonce to hit the top ten with four different songs from the same album.