|
 Kelly
Clarkson was born in 1982 into a firmly middle-class family.
Her mother, Jeanne Taylor, is a first-grade teacher, and her stepfather,
Jimmy Taylor, is a contractor. Clarkson was 6 when her mother and
biological father, Steve Clarkson, separated.
Clarkson developed an early love of theater and performance. First came the living-room ‘‘productions’’of
such popular musicals as ‘‘Beauty and the Beast’’and ‘‘The
Little Mermaid.’’
Upon entering Burleson High School, Clarkson spent much of her time in choral
mode, when she wasn’t honing her skills as a crack volleyball player. She
was all but made for musical theater, landing important roles in the high school’s
productions of ‘‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’’and
Brigadoon.’’
After graduating in 2000, Clarkson wrote and demo-taped her own compositions
while working as a waitress in a comedy club and as a clerk at an Eckerd pharmacy.
In January of this year, accompanying a friend, Clarkson went to Los Angeles
to seek her first break in the music business. Through various contacts, Clarkson
began tentatively working with well-known songwriter Gerry Goffin, a former songwriting
partner of Carole King.
But for Clarkson, a series of discouraging incidents —including Goffin’s
suffering a sudden illness, a fire at her Los Angeles apartment and her roommate’s
decision to leave LA —convinced the aspiring singer it was time to return
to Burleson.
Back in Burleson, she scrounged up a job distributing promotional samples of
the energy drink Red Bull. ‘‘She was discouraged at that point, but
she would always say to me, ‘I have to sing, I don’t know what else
to do,’’’recalled her mother.
Finally, another friend cajoled Clarkson into joining roughly 1,000 hopefuls
at the Dallas auditions for ‘‘American Idol.’’Several
call-backs later, Clarkson found herself on a plane back to Los Angeles, ready
to compete against 119 other ‘‘Idol’’contestants.
Kelly made it through to the final 30 contestants of American Idol. She won America's
vote with her rendition of "Respect". Kelly made it through to the
top 10 finalists along with soon-to-be close friend Justin Guarini and AJ Gil.
The next week was another good one as Kelly sang "You're All I Need" and
appraisal from her first big fan.
Week after week, Kelly fans voted in to keep her on the show. From "Natural
Women" to "Walk on By", Kelly was doing great and her performances
were seen in thousands of house holds each week. The final two were close and
the winner of American Idol was not clear yet.
Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson had traveled the long road and were now TV
stars. Two new songs, A Moment Like This and Before Your Love, were performed
on the American Idol by both Justin and Kelly. That night, Kelly fans called
in and voted for 2 hours. The next night, America had voted and picked Kelly
Clarkson to be their American Idol. A teary-eyed Kelly sang 'A Moment Like This'
after winning, a song that fit Kelly's moment and her happiness.
Kelly Clarkson
Personal videos and photos - Click here!
|
