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You might know her from the first season of "American Idol," when she captivated the world and became the show's first winner,  but since 2002, Kelly Clarkson has made quite the career doing what she loves best. Kelly Clarkson lived a not-so-simple life before she became a music sensation. Her parents divorced when she was very young and her mother struggled to raise Kelly and her older siblings. Clarkson may not have understood exactly what was going on in her home life, but at 8 years old, knew that music would have a strong emotional power in her life. A visit to an African-American church first inspired young Clarkson. "I was like, 'Wow, whatever they're feeling, I want to feel it too,'" Kelly says. As a junior in high school, Clarkson joined the choir after urging from a music teacher who overheard Kelly singing in the hallway.

Kelly Clarkson became a household name as a contestant on the first season of "American Idol," but that was just the beginning. Clarkson released her debut album in 2003 titled “Thankful,” which went double-platinum No. 1. Then, in 2004, "Breakaway," which sold more than 12 million copies, had five Top 10 hits and stayed on charts for two years. In 2007, "My December" went platinum and 2009's "All I Ever Wanted" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Top 200.

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She's played piano since age 8 and written songs since she was 15 years old, but singer-songwriter Christina Perri was propelled into the public eye in July 2010 when she was asked to perform “Jar of Hearts” on the Fox show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”

The haunting single, written and sung by the 24-year-old Philadelphia native, captured the hearts of viewers and she hasn't failed to impress listeners ever since. “Jar of Hearts” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 63 without any radio play and went on to sell 1 million downloads and Perri landed a deal with Atlantic Records soon after.

The defiant break-up song represents the album, "lovestrong," in a very big way. The album embodies two extremes: love and the pain that can come with a lost love along with the strength to be happy. “Arms,” is Perri’s second released single, featuring a happier, more hopeful song.

“They’re all songs I felt I needed to give away,” Perri says. “I have been writing songs since I was 15, so I reached into my arsenal and picked the ones I felt others should hear. My intention for my music is pretty simple: I want to make people feel less broken and alone.”

Growing up in Bensalem, Pa. (a suburb of Philadelphia) Perri began her music career at a young age; at 6 she first sang at her Holy Communion. Her parents realized her talents and enrolled her in piano lessons as well as musical theater groups. Perri always knew what she liked musically and said her piano teacher "fired" her because she used to change the endings to songs -- she didn't like the way they were written and believed her versions were better! At the age of 16, Perri taught herself how to play the guitar by watching VHS tapes of Blind Melon. 

Perri isn't the only creative talent in her family. Her older brother Nick has played guitar in rock bands such as Shinetown and Silvertide. Christina  traveled to London with her brother's band, working as a gofer. It was during this time she found out she was accepted to Philadelphia’s University of the Arts with a scholarship. She only stayed in school for one year and felt the need to do some soul-searching, so she left to visit her father’s family in Italy. Christina has said of the situation, "I was 19 and needed to soul search. I was still writing music, but I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life." 

When Perri was 21, she packed up a suitcase and her guitar and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her musical dreams, posting YouTube videos of her singing her own songs and covers until she was recognized. Within four months, she got married and, along with her husband, started their own production company, but the marriage only lasted four months. Perri says about that time, "In theory, it all sounds perfect... I had the house, the job, the dogs. It was the coolest life ever, but it was somebody else's life." 

After the divorce, Perri began writing new songs and posting videos of herself on YouTube. Her song "Tragedy" caught the eye of Bill Silva Management who now represents her. 

“Every day something happens that blows my mind,” Perri says. “Being able to wake up and play music is more than I’ve ever dreamed my life could be. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences, my hope, my strength, my guts and my heart with the world.”

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“I’ve always liked being the center of attention, yes.” Though successful singer-songwriter Adele said these words laughingly, they are paramount to her success. As a girl belting out lyrics to the Spice Girls in her north London home and performing Destiny’s Child songs at her Tottingham elementary school, Adele—born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins – always knew she wanted to be a singer. Though her initial plan was to scout perspective talent, not be it- Adele’s friend took a copy of a demo she’d recorded and uploaded it to Myspace. This move helped Adele receive plenty of recognition, and eventually a call from XL Recordings, who signed her in 2006. Adele released two singles in 2007: “Hometown Glory” and “Chasing Pavement”, the latter was so successful that it earned her a Grammy Award the following year (2009) for Best New Artist.  In January of 2008 Adele released her first studio album “19.” “My debut album is about being between 18 and 19; about love,” she says. “’Daydreamer” is about this boy I was in love with, like proper in love with. He was bi, and I couldn’t deal with that. All the things I wanted from a boyfriend, he was never going to be…It’s quite a sad album.”

Adele has kept fans anxiously waiting for even a glimmer of new material. On January 24, 2011 in the United Kingdom (February 22 here!), Adele released her second studio album, "21" to the joy of her fans. The traditional sound of Adele has been tweaked a bit in this second album, due in part to her bus driver listening to country music while she was on tour, but it is still her signature passionate trait. Adele’s single “Rolling in the Deep” has being holding the top spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 for many weeks now.

On Monday, July 4, Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" will be the next single released on her sophomore album. She hopes that it will be another big hit among fans. “I don’t know what’s going to happen if my music career goes wrong. I haven’t had a proper job yet.” Adele says. Luckily for her, it doesn’t look like she will ever need a “proper” job. Check out her website here.  

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“I gave myself until I turned 25 to make it,” pop phenom Katy Perry said in a 2009 interview. “And if it didn’t happen, I thought I’d just try to find a nice husband.” With a wedding that took place just two days before her twenty-sixth birthday, Perry has managed to do both.

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