Biography
Date of Birth
24 December 1982, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Birth Name
Kelly Brianne Clarkson
Nickname
Kellbelle
The Original American Idol
The Princess of Pop
The Queen of Covers
Height
5' 3½" (1.61 m)
Mini Biography
Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982 in Fort Worth, Texas & raised in Burleson, Texas. She was born to Jeanne Ann Taylor (née Rose), an English teacher & Stephen Michael Clarkson, an engineer. She was the first winner of the series American Idol, in 2002. Kelly is also a strong believer in God. She has been married to Brandon Blackstock since October 20, 2013. They have two children.
Trivia
Originally wanted to be a marine biologist but changed her mind when she saw the movie Jaws (1975).
Attended and graduated from Burleson High School, Burleson, Texas (2000).
Won the first season of American Idol (2002) on 4 September 2002.
Was a cocktail waitress at a comedy club in Arlington, Texas and at Hyena's Comedy Club in Downtown Fort Worth, Texas.
Daughter of Jeanne Clarkson and Joseph Clarkson.
Her first single sold nearly 250,000 copies in its first week.
Her first single, "A Moment Like This", set records by jumping from number 52 to the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
Beat out more than 10,000 people to land a $1 million recording contract on American Idol (2002).
Has two siblings: Jason Clarkson (born 1973) and Alyssa Clarkson (born 1976).
Kelly stayed up all night before her American Idol (2002) audition so she would not sleep through the alarm, which she frequently did in high school.
Used to work at Hollywood Theatres in Burleson, Texas. Used to work at a bookstore and at a zoo.
Sang the National Anthem at The Day of Service in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2002.
Christina Aguilera co-wrote her hit single "Miss Independent".
Came in second place in World Idol (2003).
Avril Lavigne co-wrote her new single "Breakaway" which is on the soundtrack for The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004).
One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Harry George, was a Greek immigrant. Her other ancestry includes English, German, Irish and Scottish.
Her debut album, "Thankful" (2003), went double platinum.
Her sophomore album, "Breakaway" (2004), debuted at number three.
Is the first artist in the Billboard Radio Monitor era to hold the No. 1 spot at Mainstream Top 40 and AC during the same week with two different songs (Breakaway and Since U Been Gone).
Ranked #92 in FHM magazine's 100 Sexiest Women in the World (2005).
Underwent LASIK eye surgery to correct her vision.
As of July 2005, she is the top-selling American Idol (2002) contestant, having sold approximately five million albums in the United States and having had five Top 10 singles.
Became the first artist to have two songs in the top 3 of Billboard's Pop Airplay 100 chart, with "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes".
Her debut album, "Thankful" (2003), has sold more than 2.5 million copies in the United States. Her sophomore album, "Breakaway" (2004), has sold more than 6.2 million copies in the United States, with almost 25 million in sales worldwide.
Held a record on TRL for a song to be number one on the countdown.
Her music video for "Because of You" debuted at #1 on TRL. The only other artists to achieve this goal are Britney Spears, Eminem and *NSYNC.
Won the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance ("Since U Been Gone") and Best Pop Vocal Album ("Breakaway") at the Grammy Awards on February 8, 2006. Kelly also performed "Because of You" at the ceremony and received a standing ovation.
Ranked #92 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement.
Accepted two Grammy Awards: the award for Pop Female Vocal for "Since U Been Gone" and her album has been awarded Best Pop Album.
Parents, Jeanne Clarkson and Joseph Clarkson, divorced when she was six.
Ranked #50 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement.
Fired her manager, Jeff Kwatinetz, in summer 2007.
Said in a Reader's Digest interview that as a toddler, she would often walk around naked and that, to this day, hates wearing clothes. Calls wardrobe fittings "the death of me".
Had jobs as a teenager and determined that once she started making money as a musician, she never wanted to have to take a job for the money. Working with her business manager, she said she has financially set herself up for life.
Performed "Ave Maria" for Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2008. This took place at St. Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers, New York.
Her music video for "My Life Would Suck Without You" placed #6 on VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2009.
Her music video for "I Do Not Hook Up" placed #25 on VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2009.
Is the only American Idol (2002) winner to hold the title less than a year. This is because season one aired in June and the show began again the next spring.
Performed "Everybody's Got Their Something" at the 2010 'America Celebrates the Fourth of July' at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Has twice broken the Billboard Hot 100 record for a song's biggest leap to #1. First with "A Moment Like This" in 2002 (52-1) and with "My Life Would Suck Without You" in 2009 (97-1).
Engaged to Blake Shelton's manager, Brandon Blackstock, son of her manager, Narvel Blackstock, and stepson of Reba McEntire [December 14, 2012].
Her music video for "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" placed #4 on VH1's Top 20 Videos of 2012.
Was offered scholarships to three universities but decided to pursue a music career.
Her soul-mate is her puppy Joplin, a black poodle mix she adopted in 2011.
Estranged daughter-in-law of Narvel Blackstock, and estranged stepdaughter-in-law of Reba McEntire.
(October 20, 2013) Married her boyfriend of 20 months Brandon Blackstock at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee, following a 10-month-long engagement.
Estranged sister-in-law of Shelby Blackstock.
Has 2 stepchildren: stepdaughter, Savannah Blackstock (b. June 7, 2002) & stepson, Seth Blackstock (b. November 26, 2006) with estranged husband, Brandon Blackstock.
Has 2 children: daughter, River Rose Blackstock (b. June 12, 2014) & son, Remington Alexander "Remy" Blackstock (b. April 12, 2016) with estranged husband, Brandon Blackstock.
Returned to work 3 months after giving birth to her daughter River to begin recording her fifth studio album.
Returned to work 2 months after giving birth to her son Remington to begin recording her sixth studio album.
Since U Been Gone notoriously replicates the Yeah Yeah Yeahs's song Maps yet lead singer Karen O was never able to get songwriting credit. She compared it to getting bitten by a "poisonous varmint".
(May 2, 2019) Hours after hosting the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas for the second consecutive year, Clarkson underwent surgery to get her appendix removed. She had "broken down in tears after the show from pain" and immediately flew back home once the awards show wrapped. Clarkson had the surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and is now "feeling awesome" as she recovers.
Announced she was filing for divorce from Brandon Blackstock on June 11, 2020.
Trademarks:
Often performs barefoot
Powerful voice spanning three octaves
Nose piercing
Her tattoos
Quotes
[on boys] You need to establish yourself before you let someone else in - I'm still finding myself.
I'm petite but I was the biggest girl on my season. Everyone else weighed 100 pounds. Reporters would ask, "So what's it like being a big girl?" and I thought, "Big? What?" It was like "Wait, what am I doing wrong?" Luckily, I had a great mom and dad who helped me grow up feeling comfortable in my own skin. I have a curvy figure, which guys like. And performing isn't about looking the best or being the most beautiful. I do it because I love it. Look, nobody else has my butt. Nobody has my eyes. Nobody has my nose. It's all mine. And that's what makes me different from everyone.
I'm only 27, not 40 and still single! I enjoy being single, I love work and I think people are so passive with relationships and I'm not that person.
I'm an extremist, I'm either in a relationship or I'm not. I'm honest about it and I'll tell people, it's just there's nothing to tell. I have a very good life.
I love my body. I'm very much okay with it. I don't think artists are ever the ones who have the problem with their weight, it is other people.
The rumors are not helping me on the dating front! I prefer the boys. I'm extremely flattered when I do get hit on by girls, and I think it's hot, but I'm not into it. I like boys.
[on taking criticism from the judges] I come from a very sarcastic and loving family at the same time, but I'm very thick-skinned. So it's really not going to affect me to an extent. I really feel for the people that it does.
[on fiancé Brandon Blackstock] I've never been truly loved like I am right now.
[on her album "Wrapped in Red"] A Christmas album is fun because you don't get labeled anything. So there's rock 'n' roll on there, there's R&B. there's country, there's pop stuff. I have a hard time being cheesy, but you can be cheesy with Christmas music, so I felt I could be vulnerable.
[on talent shows] They will last as long as people keep watching them. People don't realize that Frank Sinatra got into the business through a competition. I don't think it matters how you got there. It matters if you're good enough to hang around.
I'm usually barefoot. That's how I'm most comfortable. I like my feet on the ground. I like to jump around, I like to fly across the state.
Everyone gives you their two cents, but you have to follow your gut.
[on her audition for American Idol] And I was, you know, kind of showing off my personality a bit and ended up switching places with Randy somehow and he ended up auditioning for me, Paula and Simon. I thought that was really cool 'cause I was sitting next to Paula and they liked it, they all were like... I mean, I was so happy 'cause the British man didn't make me cry!
[2010] My morning began with finding out that I am all over billboards, TV ads and other media formats alongside a tobacco company who, unbeknownst to me, is sponsoring my Jakarta date on my current tour. I was not made aware of this and am in no way an advocate or an ambassador for youth smoking. I'm not even a smoker, nor have I ever been. I can't justify penalizing my fans for someone else's oversight. This is a lose-lose situation for me and I am not happy about it but the damage has been done and I refuse to cancel on my fans. I think the hardest part of situations like this is getting personally attacked for something I was completely unaware of and being used as some kind of political pawn.
I don't understand why we're still struggling with these basic, asinine issues [gay, straight, black, and white]. It bothers me. So I ended up writing this whole song about it and I had a dream that we were more.
We decided the cover of the album [All I Ever Wanted] and just in case you haven't seen it I'll post it! It's very colorful and they have definitely Photoshopped the crap out of me - but I don't care, haha! Whoever she is, she looks great, ha!
It's ridiculous how well that song ["Since U Been Gone"] was received by hard rockers, by indie people. I was walking around with a friend of mine and this hard-rock guy came up to me and was like, 'I look stupid, but I tell my friends I love this song.' People at concerts are like, 'That's my guilty pleasure. I don't mean to be mean, but I didn't want to like the American Idol girl.' But they love that song, and it kind of won them over.
All of my favorite records - Jagged Little Pill, any U2 record, Tragic Kingdom - I love how it's like a story from beginning to finish. Especially Jagged Little Pill. The last song on My December, "Irvine", it literally was the lowest point I've had in my life. I wrote it after my Irvine show on my last tour. I was just so burned-out. I was really struggling at getting somebody out of my life and finding people that really cared. The whole song is a prayer. I wrote it in the bathroom of the venue after the show. I had to cancel my meet-and-greet; it's the only meet-and-greet I've ever canceled. I couldn't smile. It was just a really, really bad night.
[on Breakaway's musical influences] I grew up with Aerosmith, and I love listening to Jimi Hendrix. I grew up with a lot of rock influences in my life, but as well as a lot of Aretha Franklin, a lot of soul, so I don't know. I don't wanna limit myself, so I'm gonna kind of do whatever I want and put it on the record.
Because my career went from zero to 100, there was no 'growing'. I learnt well under pressure, but, like, four years passed by and I hit rock bottom, Breakaway just exploded everywhere. Everyone was making a lot of money, so everyone was pushing the train. That's when it finally all caught up with me. I came down with 'walking pneumonia' for the second time in a year. My body was physically giving up. I took six months off and went home. I love working, but at the end of the day you've got to take care of yourself.
