Although Clarkson's humble, aw-shucks attitude while competing on Idol made her seem an unlikely diva, the 20-year-old's success is as much the result of hard work as it is good luck. While growing up in the small Texas town of Burleson--where she sang in her school choir--Clarkson dreamed of superstardom, and like many aspiring singers, she actually moved to Hollywood to pursue that dream shortly after graduating from high school. Things got off to a good start when she hooked up with industry veteran Gerry Goffin to cut some demos, but for the most part, her stint in L.A. consisted of one setback after another: Goffin became ill, her apartment burned down, and after fruitlessly shopping her demo CD to record labels, the only paying showbiz opportunity that came her way was a non-speaking bit part on an episode of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. So Clarkson returned to Burleson, disappointed and drained, and took a job as a cocktail waitress.

However, Clarkson hadn't completely relinquished her diva dream, and so, upon the insistence of her best friend, she attended an open-call audition for a new Fox TV show titled American Idol: The Search For a Superstar. Out of the 10,000-plus hopefuls who auditioned nationwide, she became one of the show's 10 finalists, and soon she was back in L.A.--although this time around, she was living in a fantasy Hollywood Hills mansion with the nine other Idol contestants. Needless to say, her second stay in L.A. was more successful, as Clarkson suddenly went from complete unknown to America's sweetheart, thanks to Fox.

Although the prototype on which American Idol was based, Pop Idol, had already been a huge hit in the United Kingdom--propelling both grand-prize winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates to the top of the British pop chats--no one was prepared for the American version's even more enormous Stateside success. Ratings and call-in votes for the program grew by the millions each week, and Clarkson knocked out the competition episode by episode, winning over both the viewing/voting public and sourpuss judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson with her bubbly, girl-next-door charm and solid performances of such staples as Aretha Franklin's 'Natural Woman' (a song ironically co-written by her old mentor, Gerry Goffin, although she didn't realize this at the time) and the Badfinger/Nilsson/Mariah Carey ballad 'Without You.'

Eventually, it all came down to Clarkson and mop-topped heartthrob Justin Guarini, who both sang two ballads written especially for the show, 'Before Your Love' and 'A Moment Like This,' on the final night of the competition. Millions of viewers voted, and the following evening--September 4, 2002--Clarkson was officially declared the show's winner on live national TV, with 58 percent of the votes. Clarkson won a $1 million contract with RCA Records (who rush-released her first single two weeks later) and quickly hit the road with the other Idol finalists, including Guarini, on a sold-out stadium tour. She has since started work on a musical movie titled From Justin To Kelly, co-starring Guarini (with whom she has been linked romantically, though she denies such rumors), and on her debut album with a virtual army of big-name producers and songwriters, including Diane Warren (Celine Dion, Michael Bolton), Desmond Child (Cher, Bon Jovi), and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson).