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Kelly Clarkson was born on April 24,
1982 in Burleson, Texas to. Jeanne (teacher) and Steven Clarkson.
They were divorced when she was six. Her stepfather is Jimmy Taylor
(contractor). She has two older siblings, Jason and Alyssa.
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Singing was not Kelly’s passion as a
child. She loved science and wanted to eventually become a marine
biologist (the story goes that she changed her mind after seeing the
movie Jaws). Her start in music came while hanging out in
school while she was in the seventh grade. A music teacher in her
school (Pauline Hughes Middle School) overheard her singing in the
hallway and was awestruck. He then persuaded her to join the
school’s choir.
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This gave her the push to not only
perform in the choir, but in High School, she continued singing and
also stared in the school’s (Burleson High School) rendition of
Brigadoon. She even become a member of the Texas All-State
Choir.
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By the time she graduated High School
in 2000, she became focused on having a career in music. She worked
odd jobs to make money to help her pursue her dreams (such as
working as a cocktail waitress and a clerk). She eventually
recorded a demo CD, but did not receive any positive responses from
the record labels.
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She knew she had what it takes, and
moved to Los Angeles to be where the action is – and closer to her
eventual fame.
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Her first professional job was not as a
singer, but as an extra on the television series Sabrina the
Teenage Witch. But she continued to find small jobs to pay the
bills while working on her career and networking with people in the
industry (like song writer Gerry Goffin (“Natural Woman”)).
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In one great swoop, Gerry Gorrin got
ill, her car was towed away and her apartment went up in flames. At
this point, with her career going nowhere and no money in the bank,
she took a step back and returned home to her family. It was back
home that a friend told her about auditions for a hit reality show
in the Texas area, and she applied for the hit show American Idol.
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After getting herself together, she was
on a mission to make it in show biz. She soon auditioned for
American Idol, and after surviving more auditions, she went back
to Hollywood and made it to the finalists on televisions. In
September 2002, she was named the winner of American Idol.
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She released a single, “A Moment Like
This” (which she sung shortly after winning) soon after, and shot up
to number one on the Billboard charts the following month. [Note:
This was the greatest one-month gain for a single to go to number
one]. Following all the excitement, she went on a thirty-city tour
with 10 of the other finalists over the next six weeks.
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Kelly would not let the momentum stop,
and began filming her first movie in 2003, From Justin to Kelly
(with Idol runner-up Justin Guarini). As soon as filming
was complete (it only took six weeks), she went to the studio to
record an album.
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Her debut album, Thankful, was
released in April 2003 and began on the Billboard Album chart at
number one. The album was certified platinum within a few weeks.
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The first single released was “Miss
Independent” (co-written with
Christina Aguilera) and quickly went to #1 on the charts. The
video was nominated for three MTV Music Video Awards and a DVD by
the same name was releases soon afterwards. Kelly Clarkson was
nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance –
Female for this song.
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All the other singles from the album
also experienced extremely strong sales. To further promote the
album, she went on an international tour starting out in the U.S.
and then spanning out to various countries around the world. She
even had time to lend her talents to the American Idol Christmas
Special.
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In 2004, she went out on tour again,
this time with former American Idol winner
Clay Aiken by her side. She called
this the Independent Tour. Afterwards, she added her vocals to the
soundtrack of The Princess Diaries 2 with a song called
“Breakaway” (co-written by Avril
Lavigne) The single of the song was another number one song for
this young sensation.
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In November 2004, her second album,
Breakaway debuted on the Billboard charts at the third position.
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In 2005, Kelly sung at Superbowl XXXIX
(Tailgate Party) and also appeared on Saturday Night Live as a guest
and musical performer. Then, this woman who never stops, is still
going and finished up a thirty-five city tour around the country.
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Kelly won the Best Female Video and the
Best Pop Video awards at the 2005
MTV Music Video Awards
in August.
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Favorites: Artists = Reba McEntire,
Mariah Carey,
Celine Dion and No Doubt
Biography by Ian Ripley,
PopStarsPlus.com, Sr. Staff Writer
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