Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson is an acclaimed American singer, songwriter, and television personality who gained fame as the winner of the inaugural season of "American Idol" in 2002. Her victory catapulted her into the music industry, where she became one of the leading pop artists worldwide. Clarkson's debut single, "A Moment Like This," made history by jumping fifty-one spots to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing a record previously held by The Beatles. Her subsequent albums, including "Breakaway" and "Stronger," achieved both commercial success and critical acclaim, earning her multiple Grammy Awards and solidifying her status in pop music.
Beyond music, Clarkson has also made a mark on television, serving as a coach on "The Voice" and hosting her own talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show," which has won several Daytime Emmy Awards. She continues to create music, releasing new works such as her 2023 album "Chemistry" and an EP titled "Kellyoke." Clarkson's influence extends beyond her performances, contributing to the evolution of reality television talent competitions and their impact on the music industry. As of 2023, she remains a prominent figure in both music and television.
On this Page
Kelly Clarkson
- Born: April 24, 1982
- Place of Birth: Fort Worth, Texas
Clarkson won the first American Idol reality-television singing competition in 2002. Her ensuing career led her to become one of the world’s leading pop singers.
Kelly Clarkson came to national prominence when she won the first season of the reality television singing competition American Idol in 2002. The song Clarkson sang on the show’s season finale, “A Moment Like This,” moved fifty-one spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart to reach number one. The song broke a Billboard Hot 100 record set by the Beatles’ song, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” which moved twenty-six spots to number one in 1964.
“A Moment Like This” was a featured track on Clarkson’s first album, Thankful, which was released in 2003. The album went double platinum, selling more than two million copies. Clarkson’s next album, Breakaway(2004), sold more than twelve million copies worldwide. The album remained at number one on the Billboard chart for more than two years, and produced five Top 10 songs, including “Since U Been Gone” and “Because of You.”
In 2006, Clarkson won two Grammy Awards: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album. Later that year, she won Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for “Because of You,” which was inspired by her parents’ divorce when she was sixteen. Clarkson’s 2007 album, titled My December, sold more than one million copies.
In 2009, Clarkson’s album All I Ever Wanted debuted at the top spot on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. She returned to American Idol in January of that year to perform her single “My Life Would Suck Without You,” which reached the number-one spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in February 2009. Two years later, she released her fifth album, Stronger; the single of the same name spent three weeks at number one on the Hot 100.
After releasing a greatest hits album in 2012, ten years after winning American Idol, Clarkson went on to put out three more studio records by 2017: her first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red (2013); 2015's Piece by Piece, which peaked at number one on the Billboard 200; and 2017's Meaning of Life, her first album produced by Atlantic Records. In 2018, she became a coach on the television reality singing show The Voice. She coached the winning singer during her first two seasons with the show.
In 2019, Clarkson voiced the lead character, Moxy, in the animated musical comedy Uglydolls. She also provided original music for the film, including the single "Broken and Beautiful," which was released in March of that year. The same year, it was announced that Clarkson's talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, would premiere in late 2019. The show was completing its fifth season as of 2024. In 2022, Clarkson and Snoop Dogg became cohosts of the singing competition American Song Contest.
Clarkson also continued to pursue her musical career. In 2022, she released an EP called Kellyoke and in 2023, the studio album Chemistry. During the same year, Clarkson launched her own Sirius XM channel, the Kelly Clarkson Connection.
Impact
Clarkson’s win on the first season of American Idol and subsequent chart-topping music sales helped establish the viability of the reality television talent competition format in the United States. Although some industry analysts have criticized the accuracy of the show’s voting process, and the contractual details of music deals earned by its winners, which require that the show’s producers receive a share of sales revenue, American Idol has had a significant impact on the popular music industry, establishing a new platform through which aspiring musical artists earn exposure to larger audiences. While the show’s viewing decreased after its prime in the 2000s, and it temporarily ended in 2016 before being brought back in 2018, its impact on popular culture, television programming, and the music industry continues to be felt. She has won many awards for her music and talk show. In 2022, she received two Daytime Emmys, her second for Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment and her third for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. In 2023, she also won two Daytime Emmy Awards, her third for Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment and her fourth for Outstanding Entertainment Daytime Talk Series Host. n 2021, Clarkson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bibliography
Abuelhawa, Laila. "Kelly Clarkson's Best Kellyoke Performances of 2024 (So Far)." Backstage Country, 23 Apr. 2024, backstagecountry.com/listicle/kelly-clarksons-best-kellyoke-2024/. Accessed 23 May 2024.
Bronson, Fred. “American Idol’s Tenth Anniversary: Kelly Clarkson’s Journey to 73 Billboard Chart Toppers.” Billboard, 11 June 2012, www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/tv-film/1093996/american-idols-tenth-anniversary-kelly-clarksons-journey-to-73. Accessed 23 May 2024.
Freeman, Jon. "Kelly Clarkson to Join The Voice as Coach." Rolling Stone, 11 May 2017, www.rollingstone.com/country/news/kelly-clarkson-to-join-the-voice-as-coach-w481978. Accessed 23 May 2024.
Ganz, Caryn. "Kelly Clarkson Is Nobody’s Puppet." The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/19/arts/music/kelly-clarkson-meaning-of-life-interview.html. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
Johnston, Maura. "Kelly Clarkson: 'I Am a Whole Lot of Woman, and That's OK.'' Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2017, www.rollingstone.com/music/features/kelly-clarkson-i-am-a-whole-lot-of-woman-and-thats-ok-w510320. Accessed 23 May 2024.
Tracy, Kathleen. Kelly Clarkson. Mitchell, 2007. Clarkson, Kelly