When Kelly Clarkson first hit television screens across America, there was something immediate about her; as Paula Abdul so aptly put it, she is "the triple threat" - she has that unique quality that ascends beyond natural talent, so it was no surprise when she was crowned the first "American Idol" winner on 4th September 2002, scoring 58% of the national vote. However, the story officially starts back in 1982, when Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas (her family moved to Burleson when she was in fourth grade); from a young age she wanted nothing more than to be a marine biologist, but, fortunately for us, the movie "Jaws" put her off. She attended Pauline Hughes Middle School, and when she was 13 (in the seventh grade), a teacher heard her singing in the school corridor and asked her to join the school choir. Kelly recalls it as a chain reaction, "Once I knew I could sing, I started to enjoy it," which spurred her on to pursuing a career in the recording industry. After leaving school, Kelly took up "odd jobs," working as a cocktail waitress, a movie theatre attendant, in a pharmacy, as a telemarketer, as a door-to-door sales agent and as a "Red Bull" promo girl. Whilst in LA, pursuing her dream of getting a recording contract, Kelly appeared in the gay interest movie, "101" and also had a spot appearance on "Sabrina The Teenage Witch," but it was singing that she really wanted to pursue. Ironically, it was only by chance that Kelly entered "American Idol" in the first place, as she was returning home from LA, without a recording contract, despite countless auditions and much industry interest, including working with Gerry Goffin, who had unfortunately become ill. After a string of bad luck, which resulted in her roommate leaving and their apartment burning down, a friend back at home suggested she entered this "new talent show," and Kelly decided that she had nothing to lose. In fact, Kelly was not only the winner of the 2002 contest, but is also one of the most successful contestants, being one of only three contestants to stay out of the "bottom three" places (the other record holders are Clay Aiken of season two and Carrie Underwood of season four).

Following her win, she released a double-A side single, "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love," which set the record for the biggest leap to the top spot in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, jumping 52 places in one week and going on to sell over 500,000 copies in the US alone, a huge feat in a country where commercial singles are not commonplace. Performed by both Kelly, and the "American Idol" runner up, Justin Guarini, the songs were always going to be released by the eventual winner of the show. After all the set-backs in LA, Kelly says that winning the show was just her way of breaking into the industry, and the unique way she went about putting together her debut album proved she was more than just a reality TV show winner; she was a true musical force to be reckoned with. Her debut album was finally completed in 2003, featuring a mix of songs hand-picked by Kelly, and also ones she had co-written herself. The debut single from the album, "Miss Independent," was performed on the second season of the "American Idol" show, along with another album track, "Anytime," premiering them to the public and kicking off promotion for the album. "Miss Independent," in it's demo form, was being worked on by songwriter/producer Rhett Lawerence, with Christina Aguilera (and her own songwriter, Matt Morris, who isn't credited on all releases of the song), and when Kelly was played the demo she immediately knew she loved it; a vibrant blend of pop, rock and soul. Kelly and Rhett worked on the song together, changing and adding bits, and finishing the song. The resulting single hit #9 in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on airplay alone, and scored her a 2004 Grammy Nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal" performance, and also scored Kelly her first UK top 10 single, when it was released in summer of 2003, entering at #6, and selling over 20,000 copies in the first week. The album, entitled "Thankful," was released in the US on 15th April 2003, and sold over 300,000 copies in its first week of release, going on to sell over 2.5million, being certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album saw Kelly working with the Underdogs, who have previously worked with Justin Timberlake, and Clif Magness, famous for producing half of "Let Go," Avril Lavigne's debut record. As part of her contract, Kelly was also to appear in a feature film, which was based on the American holiday, Spring Break, and also started Justin Guarini. "From Justin To Kelly" was filmed at the same time as both Kelly, and Justin, were recording albums, and was inspired by the success of the S Club 7 TV shows and "Spiceworld" (Kelly, S Club 7 and the Spice Girls were all signed to Simon Fuller's 19 management group). Unfortunately, the film was seen as a box office failure and was critically panned. Further singles from "Thankful" were released; "Low" (which reached #2 in Canada and #58 in the US chart) and "The Trouble With Love Is," which was used as the theme song from the British romantic comedy, "Love Actually."

In late 2003, Kelly, along with "Idol" winners from all across the world partook in a worldwide "talent contest," entitled "World Idol." Kelly performed "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman," as contestants were not permitted to perform any of their original material, for fear it would be a "song contest." Kelly came second in the show, a runner up to Norway's Kurt Nilsen. However, even at the time, in terms of record sales and worldwide success, Kelly was the true "world idol," scoring top ten hits outside of the USA, in countries including Australia, Canada and the UK. On her return to America, Kelly embarked on a nationwide tour, with fellow "American Idol" star, Clay Aiken, reaching 30 cities. Following the wrap of the "Independent Tour," Kelly set out to record her second album. Mid-2004, a new Kelly song was released, entitled "Breakaway," as a stop gap between the end of the tour and the release of her second album. The song, written by Avril Lavigne with Matthew Gerrard and Bridget Benenate (writers of Delta Goodrem's "Lost Without You"), was submitted to Disney for the soundtrack of "The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement," which was released at the same time. Disney thought Kelly would be the perfect front for the song, and asked her to sing it. Kelly says, "'Breakaway' is a simple song, and I think that it's simplicity is what’s beautiful about it. Whenever writers or producers come to work with me, they take advantage of the fact that I can really belt it out. What’s cool about 'Breakaway' is that it doesn't take advantage of that. The song just uses the simplicity of my voice. I could relate to the song, it describes how I got into the business, verbatim. I did grow up in a small town, I wanted to get out, I felt like there was something... not better for me, but something different for me. I didn't feel like I fit in at school. Whether you are a DJ, or if you work with computers, or if you're a teacher, everyone has that point where they feel, 'I'm bored and this isn't what I wanted to do with my life'." The single was not an instant hit, climbing steadily on US radio, but in late 2004 reached #1 on the Hot AC and mainstream top 40 charts, peaking at #6 in the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

In October 2004, with the album ready and to be titled "Breakaway," after the smash single, a brand new single was ready to be released to officially launch the album. "Since U Been Gone," written by Max Martin and Lukasz Gottwald, was picked as that single, a drastic departure from anything you'd expect of both Kelly and Max Martin. Kelly says, "The song was produced by Max Martin, who is known for stuff he's done with the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, he's done a lot of great music with them. But the sad thing about the music industry is that people get pigeonholed. He got boxed into that 'pop' thing, because he is so great at it. But he wanted to spread his wings, and do something more in the rock direction. He wasn't sure he wanted to work with me, because he didn't want to do pop. It turns out that I said the same thing about him. Then we realised that we both wanted to rock! So, it worked out really well." The single took a while to get going, but eventually peaked at #2 in the official US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in April 2005, selling over 500,000 downloads. The album followed the single release in late 2004, and has sold over 3million copies, surpassing the sales of her debut, further fuelled by the top 10 success of the next single, another Max Martin collaboration entitled, "Behind These Hazel Eyes." At the start of 2005, Kelly embarked on her second tour of the States, this time as the sole headliner. The "Breakaway" tour was a massive success, which lead to a second leg being announced for later in the year. In the break between "legs," Kelly found the time to come over to the UK and Europe, in an attempt to break the lucrative European market further. "Since U Been Gone" was released in July 2005, and hit #5 in the official UK singles chart, one place higher than her debut, "Miss Independent," and a big improvement on "Low"/"The Trouble With Love Is," which stalled at #35 here. Kelly Clarkson is proof that if you want something bad enough, you can "Breakaway" and make your dreams come true.