It’s understandable to wonder if American Idol would have become the cultural phenomenon it did if Kelly Clarkson hadn’t been chosen as the very first winner back in 2002 at only 20 years of age. She has validated the public’s belief in her by building an incredible career.
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She’s never really been far from the public eye, but it’s possible you lost track of some of her achievements. Let’s take a look at some of Clarkson’s feats in and out of music, while also focusing on what she’s up to these days.
From Kelly Clarkson’s “Moment” to Decades of Musical Success
Clarkson won American Idol‘s first season, which ended on September 4, 2002, when she defeated fellow finalist Justin Guarini. Just a few weeks later, her debut single “A Moment Like This,” which she performed to close out her run on Idol, debuted. Considering the massive popularity of the show, it wasn’t so surprising the song shot to the top of the charts.
Clarkson really started to show what she could do as an artist with her 2003 debut album Thankful and its sassy lead single “Miss Independent.” Both album and song were major successes, but that only set the table for the 2004 followup Breakaway. The title was a coded message that Clarkson was leaving behind her Idol trappings and forging her own path. With four Top 10 singles, 12 million albums sold, and a couple Grammy wins, the album pushed Clarkson into the pop stratosphere.
While Clarkson’s recording career has suffered hiccups, she always seems to pick herself back up. She has enjoyed two more No. 1 singles (“My Life Would Suck Without You” and “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You”). She also holds the distinction of being the only artist in history to score No. 1 hits on the pop, adult pop, adult contemporary, country, and dance charts.
Branching Out
Kelly Clarkson was still a teenager when she first appeared on Idol, and she was understandably reserved on the show in the face of all that attention. The public didn’t really get a taste of her personality. But she has since shown herself to be a true hyphenate, able to fearlessly hop between media outlets and projects.
Her film career didn’t get off to the best start, thanks to the Idol-connected flop From Justin to Kelly. But she’s since found a niche as a voice performer for animated films like The Star and Trolls World Tour. She has also pretty much conquered reality TV as one of the most beloved judges on The Voice, NBC’s answer to American Idol.
On top of all that, Clarkson has developed into one of the most reliable syndicated television hosts. The Kelly Clarkson show debuted in 2019 and is still going strong, as Clarkson has proven an amiable interviewer of both celebrities and those out of the spotlight. And, as if to remind everybody from whence she came, the show’s most notable segment is “Kellyoke,” where she tackles cover songs from a wide range of artists. Guess she never lost that knack for singing on television that she displayed on American Idol all those years ago.
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