Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Clarkson made her debut under RCA Records after she won the first season of the television series American Idol in 2002.

Clarkson has released four albums to date: her double-platinum debut album Thankful (2003), her multi-platinum second album Breakaway (2004) - won two Grammy Awards, My December (2007), and her latest album All I Ever Wanted (2009). Her first four albums have sold over 10.5 million copies in the United States. Clarkson is currently the only American Idol contestant to have reached number one in the UK. She claimed number one on March 1, 2009 when "My Life Would Suck Without You" debuted number one on downloads alone. She has sold over 10.2 million albums in the United States, and over 20 million albums worldwide, becoming the highest-selling Idol winner. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Clarkson is also ranked on the top 200 album sellers of the Nielsen SoundScan era at number 187.

Eleven of Clarkson's singles became Top Twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", advanced from No. 97 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in its first week of release, breaking the record for the largest leap to the top position in chart history.

Clarkson has toured extensively worldwide as a solo act. After Clarkson's appearance on the CMT Crossroads and her duet version of "Because of You" (2007) with Reba McEntire, they co-headlined the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour (2008).

Clarkson held the distinction of having the highest-selling American Idol album in the United States until November 2009, when Carrie Underwood claimed that title by a narrow margin of 100,000 albums. Clarkson, however, remains the highest-selling American Idol alum overall, with around 23 million albums sold worldwide.