Kelly Brianne, 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 Records. 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 and also yielded the top-10 single "Miss Independent". 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.
"A Moment Like This" is the debut single by American singer Kelly Clarkson. The song was written by Jörgen Elofsson and John Reid from British house music project Nightcrawlers 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.
Shayne Thomas Ward is an English singer and actor. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of The X Factor. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and was that year's Christmas number one. It sold 313,000 copies on its first day of sales, making it the third-fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, behind Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" and Will Young's "Evergreen", which sold 685,000 and 400,000 copies in their first days of sale, respectively.
Syco Music, originally and formerly S Records, was a division of Syco Entertainment founded by British entrepreneur and record executive Simon Cowell, at the time in employment at Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) that was active from 2002 to 2020.
Stronger is the fifth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 21, 2011, by RCA Records. The thirteen-song track-list features Clarkson collaborating with various new producers as well as with Howard Benson, whom she collaborated with on her previous album, All I Ever Wanted (2009). Wanting to stray away sonically from her previous albums, Clarkson's main objective was to record her vocal performances as it is heard in her live sets, and used as little auto-tune processing as possible. The album also marked the first release by Clarkson that did not cause a conflict with RCA; her previous records, most notably My December (2007), were released amidst conflict and controversy.
James Arthur is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame after winning the ninth series of The X Factor in 2012. His debut single, a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible", was released by Syco Music after the final, and debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Since then, it has gone on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide, making it the most successful winner's single in the show's history.
"Catch My Breath" is a song by American pop artist Kelly Clarkson, from her first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits – Chapter One. One of the three newly recorded songs for Chapter One, it was released as the album's lead single through RCA Records on October 10, 2012. It was written by Clarkson, and co-written and produced by her musical director Jason Halbert, along with producer Eric Olson.
"Something I Need" is a song recorded by American pop rock band OneRepublic. It was released on August 25, 2013, through Mosley Music and Interscope Records as the third single from their third studio album, Native (2013). The song was written and produced by Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco. It peaked at number six in Australia, where it has been certified 3× Platinum, and number four in New Zealand, where it has been certified Gold.
Gabriella Michelle "Ella" Henderson is an British-Danish singer and songwriter. She competed in the ninth series of The X Factor UK in 2012, being the eighth contestant eliminated despite being a strong favourite to win. She signed with Syco Music shortly after, and released her debut studio album, Chapter One (2014), which reached number one in the UK. The album spawned the chart-topping single "Ghost", as well as the top 20 singles "Glow" and "Yours". Henderson went on a four-year hiatus in 2015. Her second studio album, Everything I Didn't Say, was released in 2022.
Fleur East is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and presenter. She competed on the second series of the televised singing competition The X Factor in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addictiv Ladies. In 2012, she then launched a solo career with the record label Strictly Rhythm and released songs with dance musicians including DJ Fresh and Drumsound & Bassline Smith. East returned to The X Factor as a solo artist in 2014 for its eleventh series, where she finished in second place behind Ben Haenow.
Benjamin Bernard Haenow is a British singer-songwriter. In 2014, he was crowned as the winner of the eleventh series of The X Factor UK after beating Fleur East. Following his win, his debut single, a cover of OneRepublic's "Something I Need", was released in December 2014. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 2014 Christmas number one. Haenow released his self-titled debut studio album in November 2015, preceded by the single "Second Hand Heart", a duet with Kelly Clarkson.
"These Days" is a song by British pop group Take That. It was released through Polydor Records on 14 November 2014 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, III (2014). The song was written by Take That, Jamie Norton and Ben Mark, and produced by Greg Kurstin.
Piece by Piece is the seventh studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It was released on February 27, 2015, by RCA Records. It was her final album under her recording contract with the label, to which she signed after winning the first season of American Idol in 2002. She then made the switch to Atlantic in 2016. The album saw Clarkson reuniting with frequent collaborators Greg Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Jason Halbert, Eric Olson, and Chris DeStefano. She also gathered material from songwriters such as Sia, Matthew Koma, MoZella, Bonnie McKee, David Jost, Semi Precious Weapons lead singer Justin Tranter, and former Cobra Starship member Ryland Blackinton, among others. Inspired by the orchestral production on Wrapped in Red, Clarkson wanted all the songs on Piece by Piece to resonate like its own film soundtrack, taking a cue from the soundtracks of the feature motion pictures Cruel Intentions (1999) and Love Actually (2003) and commissioning orchestral arrangements by Joseph Trapanese.
"Nostalgic" is a song by American recording artist Kelly Clarkson from her seventh studio album, Piece by Piece (2015). Produced by former DC Talk member Jason Halbert, the song was written by artists who also have been members of various rock bands: Semi Precious Weapons lead singer Justin Tranter, former Cobra Starship lead guitarist Ryland Blackinton, Young Love lead singer Dan Keyes, and Oliver duo member Vaughn Oliver. A synth electro rock song, it sings of remembering nostalgia of a failed relationship, which was mainly based on Tranter's and Keyes's real life experiences. The record mainly features synthesizer sounds that were prominently popular during the 1980s as well as string arrangements by Joseph Trapanese and guitars by Tim Pierce. Upon the release of Piece by Piece, "Nostalgic" has received a very positive response from music critics, who lauded the track as one of the album's highlights and complimented the 1980s nostalgia evoked from the song.
Ben Haenow is the self-titled debut studio album by English singer Ben Haenow, released on 13 November 2015, through Syco Music and RCA Records. After winning the eleventh series of The X Factor in 2014, Haenow travelled to Los Angeles to immediately begin development of the album by collaborating with established musicians such as Kelly Clarkson, Julian Bunetta, Iain James, Kodaline, Anne Preven, Red Triangle, Steve Robson, J.R. Rotem, and Amy Wadge.
Love, Sax and Flashbacks is the debut studio album by English singer, songwriter and rapper Fleur East. It was released on 4 December 2015, through Syco.
American singer Kelly Clarkson has released two video albums and has appeared in forty-four music videos. In 2002, she made her debut music video appearance for the video "Before Your Love", which was immediately released after winning the first season of American Idol. An accompanying music video for the companion single, "A Moment Like This", was also issued later that same year. From her debut studio album, Thankful (2003), Clarkson released music videos for the singles "Miss Independent", "Low", and "The Trouble with Love Is", the foremost of which earned her three MTV Video Music Award nominations, including Best New Artist in a Video. Thankful was immediately followed by the release of Clarkson's debut video album Miss Independent that same year. In 2004, a music video for her single "Breakaway" was released to promote the Disney feature film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. Clarkson's sophomore studio album Breakaway (2004) issued accompanying music videos for its singles "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", "Because of You", "Walk Away", and an additional live video for "Breakaway". The music videos for the songs "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You" earned a total of three MTV Video Music Awards and a MuchMusic Video Award. Clarkson's second video album Behind Hazel Eyes was released in 2005 as a companion piece to Breakaway.
Meaning of Life is the eighth studio album by American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. It was released on October 27, 2017, by Atlantic Records. Executive produced by Clarkson and Craig Kallman, the album is her debut release for the label after completing her recording contract and leaving previous label, RCA Records, which she had signed after winning the first season of American Idol. Weary of the structure of the previous record deal where she was strictly limited to releasing pop music, Clarkson wanted to pursue a different genre—soul and R&B music, which she had previously wanted to make and had only finally found the opportunity to do so after being signed by Kallman to the label.
"Christmas Eve" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson. Written by Clarkson with Jason Halbert, who produced it, it is a Christmas-themed song about witnessing the festive joys of the Christmas season, primarily on Christmas Eve. Released as a companion track to Clarkson's children's book River Rose and the Magical Christmas, it was later issued as a single by Atlantic Records on November 30, 2017. The song is included on Clarkson's second Christmas album When Christmas Comes Around... (2021).
"Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)" is a song by American singer Kelly Clarkson from her ninth studio album and second Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around... (2021). Produced by Jason Halbert and Joseph Trapanese, it was released as album's lead single by Atlantic Records on September 23, 2021.
