Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson married Brandon Blackstock, the son of her manager Narvel Blackstock, on October 20, 2013, at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. The couple welcomed a daughter in June 2014 and a son in April 2016.

Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann and Stephen Michael Clarkson. Her mother was a first-grade English teacher and her father was an engineer. Her father divorced her mother when she was only 6 years old.

She has an older brother Jason and an older sister Alyssa, and two step-brothers from her father's second marriage. She did not grow up with her siblings as her brother went to live with her father, and her sister was raised by an aunt. They later became closer after they grew up.

While she was in the seventh grade, studying at Pauline Hughes Middle School, she was encouraged to join the choir by a teacher who heard her singing in the hallway. She later attended Burleson High School, where she performed in several musicals and participated in a talent show.

After completing her graduation in 2000, Kelly Clarkson was determined to pursue her musical dreams and to meet that objective, she recorded a demo with the money she saved by doing a number of odd jobs. She was so confident of making it big in the music industry that she declined two recording contracts from Jive Records and Interscope Records during this time.

In 2001, she moved to Los Angeles to look for opportunities, and ended up working as an extra in television series such as 'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch' and 'Dharma & Greg'. She eventually got to work as a vocalist with songwriter Gerry Goffin, and recorded five demo tracks in the hope of bagging a record deal.

She suffered a major disappointment when most US recording studios rejected her stating that her voice sounded 'too black'. Finally, after a fire catastrophe, she returned to Texas heartbroken, and started working as a telemarketer and a waitress.

In May 2002, Kelly Clarkson learned about the upcoming talent search show, 'American Idol: The Search for a Superstar', from her friends, who encouraged her to audition for it. She got a "golden ticket", a pass to the Hollywood rounds, and was eventually crowned the winner of the inaugural season of the show on September 4, 2002. Her successful stint in the show earned her a million-dollar record deal from RCA Records.

She debuted her music career on September 17, 2002 with the double-A-side singles “Before Your Love” and “A Moment Like This”. The former became the bestselling single of 2002 and both singles jumped a record 52 positions to top the 'Billboard Hot 100' chart.

On April 15, 2003, she released her debut album, 'Thankful', which received positive reviews from critics. The album debuted at number one on the 'US Billboard 200', while its lead single, “Miss Independent”, was a top ten hit in the US.

With her second album, 'Breakaway', which was released on November 30, 2004, she decided to break away from her 'American Idol' image and adopted a rock music style. The album surpassed the commercial success of her debut album, and also earned her two 'Grammy Awards'.

On June 22, 2007, she released her third studio album, 'My December', in which she once again experimented with darker themes and a heavier rock sound. However, it caused a dispute with her producer and music mogul, Clive Davis, who wanted her to record songs with more universal appeal. While the album received positive reviews, its sales numbers suffered for lack of promotion.