HOT GALLERY: Snakkle Celebrates Kelly Clarkson’s 33rd Birthday

Kelly grew up in Burleson, Texas. She received no vocal training as a child but was persuadeded to join the school choir in middle school when a teacher overheard her singing in the halls. Singing became her life. She said: "Singing gave me confidence.”

At Burleson High School, Kelly sang in the school musical each year and was named "most talented" in her senior yearbook. She even received a few full-scholarship offers for college, but she turned them down to move to L.A. and try to make it as a singer.

Of course, you need more than just a big voice to snag a record deal, so she moved back to Texas after only four months. At the urging of friends, she auditioned for some new TV singing competition show called American Idol. No one ever expected that the show would become such a huge hit, but as soon as Kelly Clarkson stepped onto that stage and sang “Respect” in the first week, it was clear that the show had found a superstar. Kelly said later: "I didn't have a clue what I was walking into.”

When Kelly won Idol, she got a record contract and released her first album, Thankful, the following year. Songs like “Miss Independent” proved that she wasn’t just some flash-in-the-pan reality show star. She had real talent. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart and is certified double platinum.

After Idol became such a hit, producers wanted to capitalize on the success. Naturally, they decided to do so by filming the worst movie ever made, From Justin to Kelly. It was a total bomb, and Kelly later said of the film: “Two words: contractually obligated.”

Even though the whole acting thing didn’t quite work on out in From Justin to Kelly, she decided to give it another try. Kelly guest-starred on everyone’s mom’s favorite show, American Dreams. She played Brenda Lee in two episodes, but she didn’t get to sing at all—it was just lip-syncing.

In 2005, Kelly released her second album, Breakaway. It started slowly, but thanks to songs like “Since U Been Gone” and “Because of You,” it ended up selling more than 12 million copies worldwide. To date, it’s the highest-selling album by any Idol alum.

Not only was Breakaway flying off the shelves (record stores still existed back then!), it also gave Kelly her first awards-show love. She picked up two Grammys—for Best Pop Vocal Album and for Best Female Pop Performance. Kelly beat out big stars like Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey for these much-deserved awards!

You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the girl. Kelly went country when she and Reba McEntire recorded a duet of “Because of You.” It was such a big success that they even went on tour together in the 2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour in 2008, selling out all over the country.

Don’t worry! Kelly is still busy recording catchy pop songs. (Ahem, “Stronger.”) But she can’t stay away from that country music. She sang a duet with Jason Aldean called “Don’t You Want to Stay” and was nominated for another Grammy. We’re pretty sure, even after 10 years, she’s just getting started.

When Kelly Clarkson's holiday album dropped in October 2013, it instantly became our new favorite holiday album.

Clarkson's seventh studio album hit airwaves earlier this year. As she said in an interview, it is her last contractually obligated pop album--so we may be hearing something different from her in the future. Country perhaps?