Kelly Clarkson

Who is Kelly Clarkson?

Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on the 24th of April 1982 in Fort Worth, Texas. After her parents’ divorce when she was six, she stayed with her mother Jeanne Ann. She had a conservative upbringing, attending church every Sunday and Wednesday.

When she graduated from high school, music-obsessed Clarkson rejected full college scholarships to pursue music. Determined to carve out a career for herself, she worked part-time jobs to finance a demo and moved to Los Angeles.

However, after failing to break into the music industry, she returned to Fort Worth where she worked various jobs until her friends encouraged her to audition for the first season of American Idol. This turned out to be Clarkson’s big break. After winning the show, she finally found the widespread success she knew she could achieve.

When Clarkson released her double-A-side single of “Before Your Love/ A Moment Like This” – two songs she had performed on American Idol – she discovered what it was like to have her first number-one hit. This feeling would become familiar to Clarkson over the next few years, as she went on to have major success with her debut album Thankful (2003) and most of her subsequent albums, like Breakaway (2004) and My December (2007).

Despite her early career struggles, Clarkson has become one of the most successful recording artists in the world. And that’s no easy feat! In the U.S. alone, she has had over 100 Billboard no.1 singles. She’s sold over 54 million singles worldwide and accumulated 2.8 billion on-demand streams.