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Kelly Clarkson is an American singer who is most well known for winning the first season of American Idol. Her win has sparked an impressive music career that is still thriving more than 2 decades later.
However, Clarkson has found success in more than just the music industry. And with a television series, impressive real estate portfolio, multiple children’s book releases, and more, it’s not hard to understand why Kelly Clarkson’s net worth is still steadily growing. Read on to discover Clarkson’s most successful projects and follow her career from the beginning til the present day.
Early Life
Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, TX on April 24, 1982. Her parents divorced when she was 6, resulting in an atypical childhood. She grew up separate from her two older siblings, Jason and Alyssa. Clarkson lived with her mother, Jeanne Ann Rose, who taught English to first graders.
Clarkson was raised as a devout Southern Baptist, having to go to Church on Sundays and Wednesdays. This religious influence resulted in Clarkson developing a strong faith in God. It was also the inspiration that started her singing.
While attending Pauline Hughes Middle School, Clarkson joined the choir upon the encouragement of her teacher, Cynthia Green. Clarkson easily passed the audition despite having no prior formal voice training.
Clarkson later attended Burleson High School where she starred in a number of musical productions. These including Annie Get Your Gun and Brigadoon. As more people began to notice her raw talent, Clarkson eventually began formal voice training in the hopes that she would get a college scholarship through music. She did receive a number of offers but declined them all, deciding it is better to start her career right there and then.
Music Career
It wasn’t an easy journey as Clarkson moved to Los Angeles and tried to establish a career as a singer. Several record labels turned her down. However, she did receive two record contract offers, but she turned them down – she didn’t feel they were the right fit for her. After several rejections, she went back to Burleson, working odd jobs to make money.
American Idol
It just so happened that after her return, a new reality TV series called American Idol was holding auditions. Friends encouraged her to join, and that was what she did, immediately getting a Golden Ticket. She went on to win the very first season of Idol in September 2002, beating runner-up Justin Guarini.
The win was the big break that Clarkson had been waiting for. She instantly got a records deal with RCA Records, 19 Recordings, and S Records. Barely two weeks after the end of the reality show, Clarkson’s first double-A-side single was released. The two songs, Before Your Love and A Moment Like This were the songs that she performed during the season finale.
Albums
Over the span of her career, Clarkson has sold over 25 million albums and more than 45 million singles around the world. The first two albums that she released, Thankful and Breakaway, both sold more than 10 million copies. Her third album, My December, did not do as well in sales but it was still highly praised by critics and was certified platinum.
Her subsequent album, All I Ever Wanted, reverted to a more mainstream sound and generated higher sales. Clarkson did a concert tour to promote the album from 2009 to 2010.
Her 2011 album, Stronger, won her the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for the second time. The sales of this album also pushed Kelly Clarkson’s net worth past the $10 million mark.
The Voice
Sixteen years after winning American Idol, Clarkson was back in the singing competition scene. This time, she wasn’t a contestant but one of the celebrity judges on The Voice. She joined the show in its 14th season as a regular coach. And she receives a salary of $560,000 per episode, which is roughly $14 million per season.
Clarkson had previously appeared on The Voice as a guest mentor for Blake Shelton’s team in 2012. By the end of that year, Kelly Clarkson’s net worth had increased to $18 million. Her total earnings from the show are estimated to have exceeded $50 million.
Other Projects
Not many realize that Clarkson is also a successful author. In 2016, HarperCollins published the children’s book River Rose and the Magical Lullaby. The following year, she released River Rose and the Magical Christmas.
Clarkson has also appeared in several films since the beginning of her entertainment career. The first movie she did was From Justin to Kelly in 2003, but it did not do very well. She has also been hosting her own daytime variety talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show since 2019.
Personal Life
Clarkson married hBrandon Blackstock, the son of her former manager Narvel Blackstock, in October 2013. The marriage produced two children – a daughter born in 2014 and a son born in 2016. In 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce and got primary custody of the two children.
After a long legal battle following the divorce, the former couple agreed on a settlement in March 2022. Clarkson would give Blackstock a monthly child support payment of $45,000 until the kids turn 18. She would also pay $115,000 in spousal support until January 2024.
Real Estate
Clarkson shelled out $8.5 million in 2018 for a sizable property in Encino, California. She sold it at a slight loss in 2021 when she accepted a payment of $8.24 million. Before making the Encino purchase, Clarkson had listed her home in Tennessee for $8.75 million. She had purchased the 7-bedroom house at $3 million in 2012 and eventually took a payment of $6.3 million.
When her divorce was finalized, Clarkson bought a new Los Angeles mansion to the tune of $5.445 million.
Kelly Clarkson’s Net Worth 2022
It has been almost two decades since she won American Idol and catapulted to worldwide fame. Nevertheless, Kelly Clarkson’s net worth continues to get bigger every year. As of 2022, her net worth is at around $45 million, and with a steady flow of new projects, there’s no slowing Clarkson down.
In March 2022, Clarkson and Snoop Dogg were named co-hosts of another singing competition show, American Song Contest. The series was an American adaptation of an international songwriting competition, Eurovision Song Contest.
And in June 2022, Clarkson released a new EP, Kellyoke, featuring six cover songs that she had performed during her “Kellyoke” segment on The Kelly Clarkson Show. She’s also confirmed that she has a tenth studio album completed, but she wanted to take more time to get ready to promote and release the new album.
