Kelly Clarkson

• Break Away.mp3

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer and actress who has enjoyed success in the pop and rock music genres. Clarkson made her debut under RCA Records after she won the highly-publicized first season of the television series American Idol in 2002. She was originally marketed as a pop musician with her debut album Thankful (2003). With the release of her multi-platinum sophomore album Breakaway (2004), Clarkson moved to a more rock-oriented style of music.

Kelly Clarkson
Background information
Birth name	Kelly Brianne Clarkson
Born	April 24, 1982 (age 24) Fort Worth, Texas United States
Genre(s)	Pop, Pop/Rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2002—present
Label(s)	RCA Records (2002—present)
Website	KellyClarkson.com

Early life

Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in the small town of Burleson, Texas. She is the third and youngest child of Jeanne Ann Rose, a first grade teacher who is of Greek and Irish descent, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer who is of Welsh extraction. Clarkson’s siblings include her brother Jason, and her sister Alyssa. When Clarkson was six years old, her parents split up after seventeen years of marriage; her brother went to live with her father, her sister went to live with an aunt, and Clarkson remained with her mother. Clarkson frequently moved around Texas while her mother managed several professions in order to support the family. Clarkson has since stated that, being six years old at the time, she did not understand why her family had been constantly moving. Eventually, the family settled in Burleson, where Clarkson’s mother married her second husband, 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 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 That ’80s Show among others, as well as played a small role in the film Issues 101, which was released in 2002. Following four months in Hollywood, Clarkson was discouraged when her apartment burnt down and returned to Texas, where she worked at a cinema, and as a cocktail waitress, Six Flags performer, telemarketer, Kirby Vacuum saleperson, and a Red Bull promoter.

American Idol

Once Clarkson returned to Burleson, several of her friends encouraged her to audition for the 2002 debut of the reality television program American Idol. She entered the competition with 10,000 others, and the judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were impressed with her voice. She earned a position in the Top 30 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 Carole King’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, Badfinger’s “Without You”, and Céline Dion’s “I Surrender”.