Kelly Clarkson - From American Idol to the Grammys
Kelly Clarkson went from being an anonymous talent to a nationally know singer performing for an audience of millions in a very short period of time. The very first American Idol winner recently won two Grammy Awards at the ceremony held in February—Best Pop Vocal Album for her album “Breakaway” and Best Pop Female Vocal Performance for “Since U Been Gone.” She has come a long way from her roots in Burleson, Texas.
Kelly Clarkson’s beautiful voice was discovered by her school’s choir teacher when she was in the seventh grade. After high school, she went to Hollywood to try to make a name for herself. She landed a job as an extra on an episode of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, but nothing else happened after that. Kelly Clarkson returned to Burleson, worked at a movie theater, and ultimately ended up working as a cocktail waitress in a comedy club. She entered the American Idol contest in 2002 at the age of twenty. In a sea of 10,000 aspiring singers, Kelly Clarkson distinguished herself form the others with consistently strong and mature performances, her down-to-earth charm and a great sense of humor.
Over the course of the thirteen-week show, her performances were consistently strong and included songs like “Respect,” “Natural Woman,” “Stuff Like That There” and “Without You.” Kelly Clarkson garnered enough audience votes to earn one of the two finalist positions, with Justin Guarini earning the other.
Kelly Clarkson’s final performances in the American Idol competition were “A Moment Like This” and “Before Your Love,” songs that were written for the show. She won 58 percent of the audience votes and the one million dollar recording contract with RCA. Her first single, “A Moment Like This,” was released just two weeks after winning the contest and quickly went platinum. Her first full-length CD, Thankful, was released in the spring of 2003. Her most recent album, Breakaway, which she recently won the Grammy Award for, was released in 2004 and included the title song, “Breakaway” and the hit single “Since U Been Gone” for which she also won a Grammy.
Kelly Clarkson was criticized for forgetting to mention American Idol in her acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards. Give the girl a break! While American Idol launched her career, she has upheld that career with her incredible talent over the course of the last three years. When American Idol first debuted–although it was and still is a sensation–some people may have questioned the career longevity of someone who wins the contest. Kelly Clarkson has given people little reason to doubt.