2000s Artist Highlight: Kelly Clarkson
March 7, 2017
Another week means another icon of the 2000s. As a refresher, over the past couple of weeks we have highlighted the following: Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Eminem and Justin Timberlake. However, one artist whose rise to fame is slightly different from the rest is Kelly Clarkson.
Kelly Clarkson’s rise to fame came courtesy of the first season of American Idol. American Idol, if you’re not familiar with American television, is a show where people from all over the country sing their hearts out in front of a handful of judges who determine their fate. From there, the chosen contestants compete for weeks until there is only one lucky winner left. This person gets a $1 million prize and a record deal. That person in season one was Kelly Clarkson.
Clarkson’s first single following her win, “A Moment Like This”, went from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.* That song will forever reign as the iconic song that brought her to fame, but it was just one of many hits in her ascent to fame through the decade. Through the rest of the 2000s, she released 4 albums: “Thankful” (2003), “Breakaway” (2004), “My December” (2007), and “All I Ever Wanted” (2009).** Her second album “Breakaway” holds some of my very favorite songs like, “Since U Been Gone”, “Breakaway”, “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “Walk Away”.
In 2007, after a three-year absence, Kelly Clarkson released “My December” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that year, Clarkson also did a remake of “Because of You” with Country music star Reba McEntire which charted on both the pop and country charts, reaching No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It must have been quite an honor for Kelly as the two are quite close; Clarkson calls McEntire one of her inspirations and also went on to marry McEntire’s stepson, Brandon Blackstock.***
Finally, to end the decade the right way, Clarkson released her album “All I Ever Wanted” in 2009 and the album’s first single, “My Life Would Suck Without You”, eventually climbed from No. 97 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the second time Clarkson had broken the record for the largest leap to the top spot, the first time with her single, “A Moment Like This”.*
Although Clarkson’s rise to fame was unlike the rest of her fellow 2000s icons, she made her way into the hearts of every American with her true talent. With millions of records sold while also maintaining the spotlight for over a decade, the ‘ordinary’ girl from Fort Worth, Texas proved she could hang with the best of them!
Resources:
*http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602#early-life
** https://www.discogs.com/artist/201543-Kelly-Clarkson
***http://www.billboard.com/photos/6487593/kelly-clarkson-life-career-moments-timeline