Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and became the country's best selling single of 2002. It was included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), which debuted atop the Billboard 200. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson parted ways with Idol management and shifted to pop rock for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). Supported by four US top-ten singles – the title track, "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You" – Breakaway sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.
Catherine Roseanne Dennis is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the successful hit single "C'mon and Get My Love". After a successful international solo career, Dennis later achieved great success as a writer of pop songs, scoring eight UK number ones and winning six Ivor Novello Awards. Notably, she co-wrote "Can't Get You Out of My Head", the Britney Spears song "Toxic", and Katy Perry's hit "I Kissed a Girl".
Breakaway is the second studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson, released on November 30, 2004, by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her successful debut album, Thankful (2003). Breakaway sees Clarkson collaborating with various producers and songwriters for the first time, primarily Dr. Luke, Max Martin, John Shanks, Kara DioGuardi, Ben Moody, and David Hodges; the latter two are former members of American rock band Evanescence. Despite the established commercial success of Thankful, music critics still continued to typecast Clarkson as an American Idol winner and were also critical of her attempts of establishing a commercial appeal on her own. Wanting to stray from those, she was convinced by Davis to work with Dr. Luke and Martin in Stockholm, and with Moody and Hodges in Los Angeles, in pursuit of a pop rock direction. This also led her to part ways with her manager Simon Fuller and hire the management services of Jeff Kwatinetz before the album's release. Breakaway is primarily a pop rock record with elements of rock and soul music, marking a departure from the R&B-oriented sound of Thankful; its lyrics explore themes of heartbreak, love, and escapism.
Jennifer Kathleen Hanson is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hit on Billboard's Hot Country Songs reaching #16 in March 2003, the highest-charting debut single by a female country artist for that year. Her self-titled debut album, Jennifer Hanson, was released that same year on Capitol Records to critical acclaim, and in 2003 Hanson was nominated for the Top New Female Vocalist award from the Academy of Country Music. She received a nomination that same year for CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year for her video “Beautiful Goodbye”, directed by Trey Fanjoy.
"Breakaway" is a song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song, written by Matthew Gerrard, Bridget Benenate and Avril Lavigne, was originally intended for Lavigne's debut studio album, Let Go (2002). After being deemed unsuitable for the album, it was passed to Clarkson to be recorded as a soundtrack for the film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Clarkson, who was finishing her second studio album at that time, recorded "Breakaway" to tide her fans over until the first single from her new album was released. However, the song's success prompted its inclusion on Clarkson's second album where she decided to name the album after the song. "Breakaway" was first released by Walt Disney Records as the first single from The Princess Diaries 2 soundtrack on July 19, 2004. In May 2006, "Breakaway" was reissued as the fifth and final single from the album of the same name.
"Miss Independent" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson for her debut studio album Thankful (2003). Written by Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Rhett Lawrence, and Matt Morris, with Lawrence serving as producer, it was released as the album's lead single by RCA Records on April 10, 2003. The track was initially intended for Aguilera's fourth album, Stripped (2002), but was left half-finished. Lawrence later continued writing the song with Clarkson, who eventually recorded it.
"A Moment Like This" is the debut single by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson and John Reid and produced by Stephen Ferrera and Steve Mac. It was released as a double A-side with "Before Your Love" as her coronation single after winning the first season of American Idol. The song was later included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003). "A Moment Like This" was a huge hit in North America, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Singles Chart.
James Everett "Rhett" Lawrence is an American record producer and songwriter. He has produced, mentored, and helped launch the career of 5 artists amongst the top 200 artists to be featured on Billboard magazine's top charts from 1955-2012, who have sold over 350,000,000 records worldwide. He has worked with 30 of the top 500 artists from 1955-2012 who have sold over 2.2 billion records worldwide. Many of these artists are also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Because of You" is a song recorded by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson for her second studio album, Breakaway (2004). It was written by Clarkson along with its producers David Hodges and Ben Moody, both from Evanescence. It was released on August 16, 2005, by RCA Records, as the third single from Breakaway. Clarkson originally wrote "Because of You" when she was 16 years old to cope with the emotional distress caused by her parents' divorce. She wanted the song to be included on her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), but her record label rejected the song. She then polished the song with Hodges and Moody before successfully convincing her label to include it on Breakaway.
Samuel Joshua Watters is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I Adore Mi Amor", and "All 4 Love". Watters has also written and produced songs for Grammy-winning and nominated artists such as American Idol winners Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks, and other superstars such as Céline Dion, Whitney Houston, Leona Lewis, and Anastacia. Watters is a member of the production/songwriting team The Runaways including fellow hitmakers Rico Love, Wayne Wilkins, Ryan Tedder, and Louis Biancaniello.
American pop singer-songwriter Kelly Clarkson has released nine studio albums, seven extended plays, one compilation album, one remix album, and 49 singles. In 2002, she won the inaugural season of the television competition American Idol and was immediately signed to a recording deal with 19 Recordings, S Records, and RCA Records. She made her chart debut in September 2002 with the double A-side single "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This", latter of which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart and eventually became the year's best-selling single in the United States. Her debut album, Thankful, was released in April 2003 and entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number one. Thankful produced the hit lead single "Miss Independent" and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
James Gregory Scheffer, professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Eminem, Yelawolf, Nelly, T.I., Danity Kane and Jamie Foxx, among others. Jonsin won a Grammy in 2009, for Best Rap Song for Lil Wayne's "Lollipop". That year he was also nominated for his production on T.I.'s "Whatever You Like", which also garnered a nomination for Best Rap Song.
My December is the third studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The album was released on June 22, 2007, through RCA Records. Clarkson confirmed the name of the album in her journal on her fanclub website on February 27, 2007.
Gregory Allen Kurstin is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs that hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Apples" was also released as a single by American recording artists Patti Page and O. C. Smith that same year. Miller's version became a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and on the UK Singles Chart, while Page's version became her last Hot 100 entry and Smith's version became a #2 hit on the Hot 100 chart. The song earned Russell a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and for Best Country Song. In 2013, "Little Green Apples" was covered by English recording artist Robbie Williams featuring American recording artist Kelly Clarkson, which became a top 40 hit in Mexico.
"Don't You Wanna Stay" is a duet recorded by American singers Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson. It was written by Andy Gibson, Paul Jenkins, and Jason Sellers. It was released as the second single from Aldean's fourth studio album My Kinda Party, following Aldean's and Clarkson's performance on the 44th annual Country Music Association Awards on November 10, 2010, due to strong demands of radio stations, and was also included on the deluxe edition of Clarkson's fifth studio album Stronger (2011). The song contains elements of country and pop, and its lyrics speak of the difficulties of finding and maintaining love.
Mark Steven Evitts is an American composer, producer, string arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. Evitts has worked with such artists as Nas, Hit-Boy, G Herbo, David Guetta, Cheat Codes (DJs), Train, Blues Traveler, Jewel, Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Secondhand Serenade, Katharine McPhee, Drew Seeley, Jaida Dreyer, We The Kings, among many others. In 2021, Mark was a co-writer on the Nas single, "Brunch on Sundays" for the Grammy nominated rap album, King's Disease II. Evitts also recorded on Joey + Rory's RIAA certified Gold selling album, "Hymns", which earned Evitts two Grammy winning certificates for string arranging and violin/viola performance, as well as working with producers Sam Hollander and Josh Edmondson (songwriter) on ten episodes of NBC's SMASH, including the Emmy nominated original song, "I Heard Your Voice In A Dream", and on 2015's Summer Forever soundtrack, distributed by Disney Music Group. Mark also arranged and recorded strings on the Cheat Codes track, "Shed a Light ".
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
