TCU Daily Skiff Friday, April 16, 2004
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Independent
Kelly Clarkson
Artist shares the details of her climb to fame

By Lindsey Hope

Night after night Kelly Clarkson follows a specific routine. She works out, showers, warms up by dancing around her room to Britney Spears’ “In the Zone” and performs in front of thousands of screaming fans. Sounds intimidating, right?

“It’s not too bad,” 21-year-old Kelly Clarkson said. “I don’t get nervous, boys make me nervous, but that’s about it.”

In two years Clarkson has gone from waiting tables at Hyena’s Comedy Club to performing in front of sold-out audiences in her Independent tour with her tour-mate Clay Aiken.

“This is my payback,” Clarkson said. “You talk a whole lot as a singer, doing interview after interview, you don’t sing. This is what I am doing this for.”

The hit show “American Idol” is what launched Clarkson’s singing career. Determination and the help of close friends, she said, are what led the Texas singer to the auditions in May 2002. Fourth in line at 4 a.m., Clarkson had no idea how much the experience would change her life.

“We were all like chickens with our heads cut off,” Clarkson said. “No one knew the show would be such a hit.” Becoming the first American Idol was not the initial goal for Clarkson. “I was just hoping to be noticed. I was hoping some random record producer was watching the show, and then I ended up doing really well,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson did more than impress some random record producer; she became an overnight star.

“Kelly’s knowledge and passion for music and tremendous talent are what swayed Clive Davis,” said Tom Ennis, a 26-year music business veteran and part of Kelly’s 19 Management team. “The moment she began to sing there was no doubt the country had discovered a great voice.”

A crash course in media training is how Clarkson described the madness that followed her overnight stardom, but she wasn’t alone.

“I leaned on the other contestants, especially Tamyra (Gray), because they knew what I was going through,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson soon found out that with media attention there are responsibilities. People began to dissect Clarkson’s life.

“Journalist don’t always ask the questions you want them to ask, so you learn how to avoid the hard questions or change the subject,” Clarkson said.

Keeping her clean image, however, has not been a problem. Clarkson sees herself as a role model and refuses to be anything but herself.

“Kelly is the same now as she was when she served popcorn at Wallace/Hollywood Theaters,” said Jessica Hugghins, one of Clarkson’s best friends. “She is still a dork.”

Since the launch to stardom, Clarkson has been keeping herself busy. She put out a debut album and she is now more than a month into her Independent tour with Clay Aiken.

“Clay’s fans act like Elvis just came back. His fans lick him and want to have his kids. My fans don’t lick me,” Clarkson said.

Teaching herself to play the guitar and the piano are two more accomplishments Clarkson can add to her list since her launch. Clarkson said her determination was the key to reaching her goal of playing the guitar for her tour and she has been surprising audiences across the nation with her new found talent.

Working hard to keep up with the fast-paced music industry, Clarkson doesn’t have time to pursue movie, television and Broadway offers. Establishing herself as an artist is her current goal.

“I always knew I wanted to sing,” Clarkson said. “It didn’t matter what I had to go through to get there.”

Clarkson has written most of the songs for her second album and is working with artists like Ben Moody from Evanescence to develop them. She said she continues to draw upon her friends, life experiences and her favorite artists like Aerosmith and Aretha Franklin as her inspiration for new material.

Kelly Clarkson came from a small town in Texas and describes herself as average, but nothing could be further from the truth.

“The fame stuff isn’t important, it’s all smoke and mirrors, so I decided to stay true to myself,” Clarkson said. “The best thing you can do for kids is just be yourself.”
Kelly Clarkson
Special to the Skiff Staff
Kelly Clarkson on stage at Next Stage in Grand Prairie in March during her Independent tour with Clay Aiken.
 
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