Kelly Clarkson Facts

Kelly Clarkson facts are a must-read for fans of this American Idol winner. Clarkson remains one of the most successful American Idol winners to date and has transitioned from Idol alum to bona fide music star. If you are a fan of Clarkson’s music, these facts will help you get to know the story and the life of this music star a little better.

• Kelly Clarkson was born April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas. Her parents divorced when she was six and she grew up in Burleson, where she was raised by her mother and stepfather.

• Clarkson’s seventh grade teacher was the first to discover her singing talent. After overhearing Clarkson singing outside of the classroom, the teacher convinced her to join the school choir.

• Joining the choir was a pivotal moment for Clarkson. She continued on in her school choir in high school and discovered a love for performance through appearing in several school productions. She also performed in school talent shows and developed a reputation locally for her vocal abilities.

• Clarkson’s high school reputation helped earn her full scholarships at three different colleges. University of North Texas, University of Texas at Austin and the prestigious Berklee College of Music all offered her a free ride. Clarkson eventually decided that college was not for her and she was ready to dive right into her music career.

• Clarkson beat out Justin Guarini for the top prize on the first season of American Idol. The show results were announced on September 4, 2002, and it remains one of the closest finishes in Idol history.

• Thankful, her first single and the single released by the Idol company one month after her win, set Billboard Charts history for number of chart places jumped (from 52 to number one in a week).

• Clarkson appeared in From Justin to Kelly, a feature film starring her and her American Idol competitor. The film was a box office disaster and Clarkson has since said that she did not want to do the movie but was contractually obligated to appear.

• Thankful, Clarkson’s first full length album, was released in April 2003 and went to number one. Reviews were lukewarm, but the album went quadruple platinum.

• After winning back some creative control over her career, Clarkson released Breakaway in November 2004. After a slow start, the album surpassed Thankful in terms of sales. It also was better received by critics.

• After completing an extensive round of touring, Clarkson came back with My December in June 2007, after much public arguing with record label boss Clive Davis about the direction. The album sales were underwhelming compared to her other efforts.

• All I Ever Wanted was released in March 2009. The first single debuted on the charts at number one.

• Between her album releases, Clarkson also dabbled in country music, performing with Reba McEntire and Rascal Flatts.

• Clarkon’s original career plan didn’t involve music at all. Her original plan was to become a marine biologist. Watching the movie Jaws made her change her mind.

• Simon Cowell’s brother penned the script for the ill fated From Justin to Kelly. The movie earned a total of $5 million, which is less than half of what it cost to make.

• Clarkson came in second place in the one-off World Idol competition. Though she claimed she was not feeling well, the press gave her a hard time for leaving as soon as the competition was over and not sticking around to do any press junkets.

• Clarkson has appeared on TV shows Reba, MadTV, Saturday Night Live and American Dreams, on which she played country singer Brenda Lee.

• During an interview after the sixth cycle of American Idol, Simon Cowell said he still believes Clarkson is the most talented singer to have ever won the show and compared her to female vocalists such as Celine Dion.

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