MTV Asia
A native of Burleson, Texas Kelly Clarkson is naturally gifted with a full-bodied voice. At seventh grade her school choir teacher heard her singing and urged her to join the choir where she cultivated her voice further. After leaving school Kelly went to Hollywood to make her name. Other than being an extra on an episode of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, opportunities were few and it was a disappointing start to her show business career.
The struggling singer soon returned to Burleson and worked at various jobs -- at a movie theater, promoted energy drinks and as a cocktail waitress at a comedy club. It was then that Kelly decided to take a shot at the first American Idol competition in the summer of 2002. Being one among thousands of contestants, she distinguished herself not only with her big, surprisingly mature voice, but also with a down-to-earth charm and sense of humor -- at one of the auditions, she switched places with judge Randy Jackson.
Over the course of the 13-week show, Kelly's consistently strong performances of songs like "Respect," "Natural Woman," "Stuff Like That There" and "Without You" earned Clarkson enough audience votes to see her through into the two finalist positions. After singing "A Moment Like This" and "Before Your Love," both songs written specially for American Idol, Clarkson won the contest with 58 percent of the audience's votes.
Besides the show's top prize of a $1 million recording contract with RCA, Kelly also pocketed a deal with Creative Artists Agency and several bookings, including the national American Idol tour and a performance of the national anthem at the September 11 commemoration at Washington, DC's Lincoln Memorial. Rather than moving to the entertainment centers of the US -- New York or LA -- where her newfound fame would have granted her more opportunities, the good natured singer opted to remain in Texas.
Two weeks after being crowned the first American Idol, her debut single, "A Moment Like This," was released. Unsurprisingly it smashed into the US Singles chart peaking at No. 1 and becoming a platinum seller. Her debut album, Thankful, was released in the spring of 2003 and also peaked at No. 1 on the US Album Chart. Her second album, Breakaway, was released in December 2004.
i remembered that time.. The stupid MTV indonesia was MUCH BETTER at that time.. they played kelly's video clip almost everytime at that month.. but i was not a huge kelly fan at that time.. 
