Seven Castles

Kelly Clarkson

                                      

August 19, 2006

 

Kelly Clarkson is an American pop/rock singer-songwriter, and occasional actress, whose career blasted off in 2002 when she won the talent competition in the American Idol television series. Clarkson, of Greek and Irish descent, was born in Fort Worth, Texas on April 24, 1982, as the third and youngest child of the family. When she was six years old, her parents separated after seventeen years of marriage; and she remained with her mother, frequently moving around Texas while her mother managed several professions in order to support the family. Eventually, the family settled in Burleson, Texas where her mother married another man.

 

Clarkson attended a middle school when she reached seventh grade. She had originally wanted to become a marine biologist, but the movie Jaws deterred her from this childhood dream. During the same school year, a teacher overheard her singing in a hallway, recognized her talent, and encouraged her to audition for the school choir, though she had never received professional vocal training before. Following middle school, she attended a high school and performed in musicals.

 

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 in 2000, 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. Following four months there, she was discouraged and returned to Texas, where she worked at a cinema, and as a cocktail waitress, telemarketer and a Red Bull promoter.

 

Back in Burleson, Clarkson felt revitalized. Her dream 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. She signed up with no particularly high expectations.

 

The judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were impressed with her voice. Paula, 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."

 

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. Over the course of the 13-week show, her consistently strong performances of songs earned her enough audience votes to claim one of the contest's two finalist positions. She 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, she 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.

 

With a recording contract and a hit single ("A Moment Like This"), Clarkson was suddenly an international star. Her debut album, Thankful, was released in March 2003 and immediately rose to the top of the charts, right alongside established stars such as Madonna, 50 Cent and Linkin Park. Distancing herself from her American Idol image, she took more creative control, and through considerable experimentation, developed a rock-oriented image for the release of her second album Breakaway (2004), which yielded four U.S. top-ten singles and won two Grammy Awards.

 

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.

 

Clarkson considers herself mostly Greek, and speaks fluent Greek. As a child, her favorite thing to wear was a Mickey Mouse T-shirt. Her "trademark" was to perform barefoot and she underwent a LASIK eye surgery to correct her vision.

 

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