Kelly Clarkson

Biography

Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the first season of American Idol, she has established a multi-decade career in music and television and is credited with having a lasting impact on televised talent shows. Known as a vocal powerhouse and versatile performer, she was ranked one of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone.

Signed to RCA Records in 2002, Clarkson released her chart-topping debut single, "A Moment Like This", which became the best-selling single of the year in the US. Her R&B and gospel-influenced debut album, Thankful (2003), entered the US Billboard 200 at number one. Clarkson shifted genres to pop rock for Breakaway (2004), one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. Its singles "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes" were among the top ten charted songs of 2005 in the US, while "Because of You" topped the charts in Europe. After the lukewarm reception to My December (2007), with its darker rock music, Clarkson returned to radio-friendly pop rock sounds with All I Ever Wanted (2009) and Stronger (2011), which each produced number-one singles "My Life Would Suck Without You" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", respectively.

Clarkson ventured into Christmas music with Wrapped in Red (2013), which became the best-selling holiday album of the year and featured "Underneath the Tree", American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)'s most popular Christmas song released in the 21st century. Following the release of the number-one album Piece by Piece (2015), she signed with Atlantic Records and recorded three further albums titled Meaning of Life (2017), When Christmas Comes Around... (2021), and Chemistry (2023), with the latter serving as her final release on a major label. Clarkson returned to television as a coach on The Voice for ten seasons between 2018 and 2026. She remains the female coach with the most winning contestants (four) in the show's history. From 2019 to 2026, she hosted her own talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show.

With over 82 million records sold worldwide, Clarkson is one of the world's best-selling music artists. She has received various accolades, including three Grammy Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, four American Music Awards, eight Daytime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Billboard ranked her as the Top Female Artist of 2005 and the 11th most successful female artist of the 21st century. Clarkson's first seven studio albums generated a total of 12 top-ten hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart between 2002 and 2024, as well as 10 top-ten singles in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Having a crossover appeal on various radio formats, she became the first act in history to top each of Billboard's pop, adult contemporary, country, and dance airplay charts. VH1 ranked her nineteenth on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.

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