Kelly Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter who shot to fame as the first winner of American Idol.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas on 24^th April 1982, Clarkson began singing at a young age. She was a member of the high school choir and also performed in a number of school theatre productions and singing competitions. She auditioned for the first series of television talent show American Idol in 2001, at the age of twenty, and eventually won the competition on 4^th September 2002 with 58% of the public vote.

Her first single, A Moment Like This, was released less than two weeks later. It reached number one on the US album charts and sold over 235,000 copies in its first week alone. Clarkson’s debut album Thankful followed in early 2003, going straight to number one on the Billboard 200 and producing her second Top 10 hit single Miss Independent.

Clarkson built on her success with the release of her second album Breakaway in 2004. The album spent more than a year in the US Top 20 and sold over six million copies. The title single Breakaway reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, while the second single Since U Been Gone reached number two. The album also spawned three more Top 20 singles – Because of You, Behind These Hazel Eyes and Walk Away - and received two Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (Since U Been Gone).

The singer has since released two albums. 2007’s My December and 2009’s All I Ever Wanted reached numbers two and one in the album charts respectively and between them have produced the number one hit My Life Would Suck Without You and the Top 20 singles Never Again and I Do Not Hook Up.