Kelly Clarkson

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Distancing herself from her American Idol image, Clarkson 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. While on tour in Europe in 2006, Clarkson began writing and composing songs for her third album which she will release in early 2007.

Biography and music career

Early life

Clarkson in an undated yearbook photograph aired on E! True Hollywood Story.

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 hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told the teacher that she had never received professional vocal training before. Following middle school, she attended Burleson High School and performed in musicals such as Brigadoon.

Upon graduation in 2000, 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 eventually decided to move to Hollywood to seek out other opportunities in music, one of which was a mentorship under songwriter Gerry Goffin. However, Goffin fell ill, and to make ends meet, Clarkson appeared as an extra on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and played a small role in the film Issues 101, which was released in 2002. Following four months in Hollywood, Clarkson was discouraged and returned to Texas, where she worked at a cinema, and as a cocktail waitress, telemarketer and a Red Bull promoter.

American Idol

Kelly Clarkson performed at the Washington D.C. Lincoln Memorial on September 11 2002 following her win on American Idol.

Clarkson had made it to the final two on American Idol, and on September 4 2002, she won the competition and earned 58% of the audience vote over Justin Guarini.[The Amazing Kelly Clarkson]. Angelfire.com. Retrieved February 12 2006. 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 debut 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-standing record on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart when it rose from number fifty-two to number one.UltimateKC.com. Fan listing and awards. [Accomplishments — biggest jump on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, from 52 to 1]. Retrieved February 12 2006. 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.; [Kelly Clarkson – Timeline]. ARC Weekly Top 40 information. Rock on the Net. Retrieved February 12 2006. it spent five weeks at number one in Canada, and remains Clarkson's only number-one there.

Shortly following the completion of the first season of American Idol, Clarkson was accused of working with a record company. American Idol's rules stated that a contestant was not allowed to compete on the program if they had been linked to a record company. However, she was cleared of all allegations, as she had only had a contract in order to conduct demonstration work."[Kelly Clarkson's record label and songwriters deny she had a recording deal before American Idol]". RealityTVWorld.com. Retrieved February 25 2006.

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. She performed Aretha Franklin's "A Natural Woman". Because she left immediately after the competition, she was chided by some in the media for what they saw as poor sportsmanship.Kaplan, Don. The New York Post. January 3, 2004. Where was Kelly when Kurt won? Retrieved March 30 2006.

2003–2004: Thankful

"Miss Independent" became a success when released as the second single from Thankful. It reached the top ten of the U.S. and Canadian singles charts, and earned Clarkson a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance".Hollywood.com. [Nominations for the 46th annual Grammy Awards]. Retrieved February 24 2006. When the single was released in the United Kingdom and Australia, it reached the top ten of the charts, however, Thankful received less attention. It peaked at number forty-one on the UK albums chart and at number thirty-three on the Australian albums chart. Further singles released outside North America would appear even less successful.

The third single taken from Thankful "Low" reached number two in Canada, but was unable to make the top forty of the U.S. chart. The final single "The Trouble with Love Is" yielded low peak positions on both charts. Clarkson attributed the underperformance of both releases to poor management and relieved her manager Simon Fuller, whom she felt was not completely focused on her career.

2004–2006: Breakaway

During the promotional tour of Breakaway (2004), Clarkson appeared on Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005.

[Big comebacks, small triumphs]. DetroitNews.com. Retrieved March 4 2006. However, the single releases from Breakaway proved very successful, and allowed it to become only the fourth album in history to stay in the Billboard 200 Top 20 for a consecutive year, as well as, being certified five-times platinum in the U.S. on January 18, 2006KellyClarkson.ca. [Breakaway is 5x platinum]. January 11 2006. Retrieved March 4 2006. and quadruple platinum in Canada on September 29, 2005.CRIA certification. [Album certifications for week ending September 29, 2005]. Retrieved March 4 2006. In Australia, the album reached number two; however, it experienced a delayed release in the UK. Clarkson co-wrote six of the songs with several songwriters, such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, producer Max Martin, and Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. Breakaway received different responses from critics; Rolling Stone commented that "on Kelly Clarkson's second album, [...] she embraces her rock side rather than the pop pageantry that put her on top of the American Idol heap".Rolling Stone. [Kelly Clarkson — Breakaway]. Retrieved March 3 2006. TeenInk noted the strength of her vocals on Breakaway, and praised the change from pop music to contemporary rock: "[Clarkson] retains the incredible power and beauty of her voice while switching to rock".S., Ryan. TeenInk. [Breakaway by Kelly Clarkson]. Retrieved March 3 2006. Stylus magazine also enjoyed Clarkson's foray into rock music, however, she was called out because of her American Idol image, which reviewer Charles Merwin believed she had yet to lose. He praised the non-singles and wrote that they "maintain a quality high".Merwin, Charles. Stylus. February 17 2005. Retrieved April 21 2006. All Music Guide called the album "a nice, low-key relief".Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [All Music Guide review]. ["Clarkson may be a fine ballad singer..."] Retrieved March 4 2006.