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Kelly Clarkson Profile |
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Birth Date: April 24, 1982
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Birth Place: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
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Birth Name: Kelly Brianne Clarkson
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Height: 5'4"
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Kelly Clarkson Wallpapers |
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Biography |
Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982, in the
small town of Burleson, Texas. Two factors contributed in
setting her on the path to stardom. First, the movie Jaws
deterred her from her childhood dream of becoming a marine
biologist. Second, a teacher at Pauline Hughes Middle School
heard Clarkson singing in the hallway, recognized her
talent, and encouraged her to join the choir. Thirteen years
old at the time, Kelly was a singing fiend from there on
out.
A regular in choral activities, Clarkson was also granted a
spot in the Texas All-State Choir. Her talent drew much
attention, and after graduating from high school, she set
out to sell herself to record labels. She had some demos
made, but despite all her efforts she could not land a deal.
So, she decided to head west and try her luck in Los
Angeles, after having saved enough money from odd jobs as a
pharmacy assistant, telemarketer, comedy club cocktail
waitress, and at a movie theater and the zoo.
Did the land of showbiz opportunity give Clarkson her first
taste of success? Well, yes and no. She put forth typical
effort in searching for work, and landed a job as an extra
on the television show Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. In a mild
stroke of luck for the development of her singing career,
she answered a newspaper ad looking for female vocalists and
found herself working with famous songwriter Gerry Goffin.
In spite of these signs of progress, Clarkson was having a
hard time finding work and became discouraged. After Mr.
Goffin became ill, her roommate moved out and her apartment
burned down, she decided she had had enough, and went back
to Texas -- broke and discouraged -- to regroup.
Back in Burleson, Clarkson felt revitalized. She found a
solid day job as a promoter for Red Bull energy drinks in
order to help pay the bills. Her dream, of course,
persisted, even if she did not have any high-paying gigs or
record contracts. Then one day, a friend told her about the
new television program American Idol, a singing contest
where the public votes for the winner. Kelly signed up with
no particularly high expectations; she was, after all, going
to be up against 10,000 contestants.
Clarkson floored the judges right from her audition, where
she sang a version of Aretha Franklin's "Respect," which has
gone on to become Clarkson's signature song. To her
surprise, Kelly found herself among the final 30
contestants. Along the way she realized that she really
wanted to win -- apparently, she experienced a sort of
epiphany while singing Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like A)
Natural Woman." Perhaps this motivation gave her voice the
added strength and conviction that helped propel her into
the finals.
Fans loved her, and so, noticeably, did the judges. Judge
Paula Abdul, a former pop star herself, said she had the
"triple threat" -- that is, promise in singing, television
and film. But the more impressive comment came from the
notoriously critical British judge Simon Cowell, who told
her, "there's no question about it... you are the best
singer on this show."
Kelly Clarkson won the American Idol contest on September 4,
2002, earning 58% of the vote over Justin Guarini, the other
finalist. Her official prize was a million-dollar RCA record
contract; the unofficial prize a considerable amount of fame
and notoriety. On October 5th, 2002, her first single, "A
Moment Like This," went from No. 52 to No. 1 on the
Billboard charts, a new "leap to number one" record
(previously held by the Beatles' "Can't Buy Me Love" in
1964, which went from No. 27 to No. 1). Meanwhile, she was
offered a multimillion-dollar movie contract for a feature
showcasing the range of talents possessed by her and Guarini,
entitled From Justin to Kelly.
Whether or not the "American Idol" is a lasting position has
yet to be determined. Good indications will be the success
of the film, due in April 2003, and of Kelly's debut album,
whose most recent release date is slated for March 2003.
Judging from the adoration her voice and charisma have
already earned her, it is fairly safe to say that she will
stick around a long time for us to idolize. |
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Other
Information |
Originally wanted to be a marine biologist but changed her
mind when she saw the movie 'Jaws'
Was an extra on the show 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch'.
Graduated from Burleson High School, Burleson, Texas in
2000.
She won the first "American Idol" contest, September 4,
2002. Her first single came out in late September of that
year.
Was a cocktail waitress at a comedy club in Arlington, Texas
and at Hyena's Comedy Club in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas.
Mom Jeanne.
Stepdad Jimmy Taylor.
Her first single sold nearly 250,000 copies in its first
week.
Her first single, "A Moment Like This", set records by
jumping from number 52 to the number 1 spot on the Billboard
Hot 100.
Beat out more than 10,000 people to land a $1 million
recording contract on American Idol.
Brother: Jason (b. 1973), sister: Alyssa (b. 1976).
Kelly stayed up all night before her American Idol audition
so she wouldn't sleep through the alarm, which she
frequently did in high school.
Used to work at a bookstore and at a zoo.
Used to work at Hollywood Theatres in Burleson, Texas.
Sang the National Anthem at The Day of Service in Washington
D.C., on September 11, 2002.
Christina Aguilera co-wrote her hit, "Miss Independent".
Came in second place in World Idol.
Avril Lavigne co-wrote her new single 'Breakaway' which is
on the soundtrack for Princess Diaries 2: The Royal
Engagement.
Debut album, "Thankful" went double platinum.
Is of Greek and Irish Descent.
As a child, her favorite thing to wear was a Mickey Mouse
t-shirt.
Sophmore album, "Breakaway", debuted at number three.
Is the first artist in the Billboard Radio Monitor era to
hold the No. 1 spot at Mainstream Top 40 and AC during the
same week with two different songs (Breakaway and Since U
Been Gone).
Ranked #92 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World (2005).
Became the first artist to have two songs in the top three
of Billboard's Pop 100 Airplay chart (Since U Been Gone,
Behind These Hazel Eyes)
Underwent LASIK eye surgery to correct her vision
"Breakaway" was her album of parting ways with her "American
Idol" image, producing a serious artist image, in that she
wrote some of her own songs, many with a rock sound a la
Sheryl Crow and Michelle Branch, while appealing to more of
a mature, Adult Contemporary audience. It worked: she topped
both the mainstream Top 40 and AC Charts, at the same time,
with different songs.
Considers herself mostly Greek, being half Greek and speaks
fluent Greek.
As of July 2005, she is the top-selling American Idol
contestant, having sold approximately five million albums in
the U.S. and having had five Top 10 singles
First artist to have two songs in the top 3 of the Billboard
Pop Airplay 100 simultaneously, with "Since U Been Gone" and
"Behind These Hazel Eyes".
Her first album, Thankful, has sold more then 2 million
copies in America. Her Sophomore album, Breakaway, has sold
more then 3.2 million copies in the US and 2 million copies
each in Australia and Canada
Held a record on TRL for a song to be number one on the
countdown.
Her music video for "Because of You" debuted at #1 on TRL.
The only other artists to achieve this goal are Britney
Spears, Eminem, and NSYNC.
Won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ('Since U Been
Gone') and Best Pop Vocal Album ('Breakaway') at the Grammy
Awards on February 8th 2006. Kelly also performed "Because
of You" at the ceremony and received a standing ovation.
Ranked as #92 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005"
special supplement. (2005) |
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