Kelly Clarkson
Biography
The winner
of Fox TV's first American Idol: The Search for a Superstar competition,
during the summer of 2002 Kelly Clarkson went from an anonymous
talent to a nationally known singer performing for an audience of
millions of viewers. One of the show's most naturally gifted singers,
the 20 year-old Texas native's vocal talents were discovered when
she was in seventh grade, when her school's choir teacher heard
her singing and urged Clarkson to join the choir. After high school,
Clarkson cultivated her voice and went to Hollywood to make her
name; she appeared as an extra on an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage
Witch but no other opportunities materialized. Upon returning to
Burleson, Clarkson worked at a movie theater, promoted Red Bull
energy drinks and ultimately worked as a cocktail waitress at a
comedy club before entering the American Idol contest. 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: at one of her auditions, she switched
places with judge Randy Jackson, who did an impromptu version of
R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly." Over the course of the
13-week show, her consistently strong performances of songs like
"Respect," "Natural Woman," "Stuff Like
That There" and "Without You" earned Clarkson enough
audience votes to claim one of the contest's two finalist positions.
After singing "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your
Love," both of which were written for the show, Clarkson won
the American Idol contest with 58 percent of the audience's votes.
In addition to the show's prize of a $1 million recording contract
with RCA, Clarkson 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, DC's Lincoln Memorial. Despite her newfound fame,
Clarkson opted to remain in Texas rather than move to New York or
Los Angeles. Her first single, A Moment Like This, was released
just two weeks after she won the contest and quickly earned platinum
sales. Clarkson's self-titled full-length album -- which was rumored
to include a duet with the contest's runner-up, curly-haired heartthrob
Justin Guarini -- was released in spring of 2003, just in time to
coincide with the second season of American Idol and right before
the American Idol movie, From Justin to Kelly.
Kelly Clarkson Filmography
"Saturday Night
Live"
... aka NBC's Saturday Night (USA: original title)
... aka SNL
... aka SNL 25 (USA: new title)
... aka Saturday Night Live '80 (USA: new title)
- Episode 30.12 (2005) TV Episode .... Musical Guest
"American Dreams"
... aka Our Generation (Australia) (USA: working title)
- Tidings of Comfort and Joy (2004) TV Episode .... Brenda Lee
- And Promises to Keep (2003) TV Episode .... Brenda Lee
From Justin to Kelly (2003) .... Kelly
... aka From Justin to Kelly: With Love (USA)
"Mad TV"
- Episode 8.1 (2002) TV Episode .... Kelly Clarkson
Issues 101 (2002) .... Crystal |
