At age 13 – a late bloomer by choral standards – Clarkson was singing to herself in the corridor at Pauline Hughes Middle School in Burleson, Texas, when one of her teachers heard her and invited her to join the choir. With the other students having been singing since the fourth grade, the music teacher pushed her hard to catch up. The training she received in the choir allowed her to use her voice and adapt it to many different styles of music. Before long, she was entered in state and regional competitions, all the while working a string of jobs as a waitress, a pharmacy assistant and at a movie theatre and the zoo.

Clarkson moved to Los Angeles and started sending out a demo tape to try to get her start in the music business. When her apartment building burned down in an accidental fire, she was left nearly destitute and decided to go home. Clarkson's best friend was determined that the singer not give up on her dream, convincing her to try out for "American Idol," where she qualified and quickly moved up the ranks to the top ten. Her life suddenly went into fast-forward for the weekly live television performances over a ten-week period of time. It was her crowning win that catapulted her to near-instant stardom, a win aided by not only her powerful vocal talents but her relatable, girl-next-door quality.

Signed to Simon Cowell's 19 Entertainment and RCA, her debut “A Moment Like This/Before Your Love” double-A side single smashed into number one in the Billboard charts and broke two world records in its very first week of release. She joined the final 10 “American Idol” contestants in a 30-date/seven week arena tour from Seattle to New York playing to over 200,000 fans. Her 2003 album Thankful showcased the diversity of her vocal style and her ability to bare her soul and debuted at the top of the U.S. charts, spawining another major hit, "Miss Independent." She also followed up with her first film role in "From Justin to Kelly" (2003)--opposite her "Idol" runner-up Justin Guarini--a quickly assembled throwback to "Grease"/"Beach Blanket Bingo"-style romp that audiences avoided and critics labeled one of the worst films of that year. Better was her 2004 guest stint on the music-fueled NBC series "American Dreams" as pop singer Brenda Lee.

Once free of her "Idol" obligations, Clarkson immediately struck out in her own direction, releasing her hugely successful sophomore effort, the not-so-subtly titled Breakaway in November 2004, moving firmly into a slightly edgier Adult Contemporary mode a la Sheryl Crowe. She quickly established that she was not going to be a pop culture flash-in-the-pan, scoring major hits with her singles "Breakaway," "Since U Been Gone" and "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and selling even more albums than her debut effort.