Education

As a young girl, she attended Pauline Hughes Middle School. She later went to Burleson High School where she graduated from high school. Upon graduating from high school, she was given scholarship by The University of Texas, Berklee College of Music, and the University of North Texas. She rejected the offers so as to concentrate on her music.

Career

Her career started in 2002. She was encouraged by some of her friends to put in for the first season of American Idol. She won the reality TV show by beating the runner-up by 58% to 42% on September 4, 2002.

After winning the show, she got record deals with three different record labels. She produced her first single on September 17, 2002. The single debuted at number 60 on the Billboard Hot 100. It eventually reached number 1 on the chart. This was the biggest leap after the one recorded by the Beatles some 38 years before. The single became the highest selling in the United States in 2002.

She got nominated for Grammy Award for the lead single of her debut album. She eventually won a Grammy Award for the first time. More than 15 million copies of this album have been sold worldwide making it the highest selling song by any contestant on Idol.

Another of her albums that has given her tremendous success is Breakaway. This album broke all her previous records. The album was certified sextuple platinum by the body responsible for the certification. It topped so many music charts in other countries like Ireland and Netherland

After the success of this single, she released an album which became an instant success, the album, Thankful, was released in 2003. It became number 1 on the Billboard 200 the very week it was released. The album was so successful that:

· It got double platinum certification by Recording Industry Association of America

· It sold over 4.5 million throughout the world.

· The lead single of the album got to the top ten in different countries

Aside music, she has participated in a lot of TV series and movies such as From Justin to Kelly, American Dreams, and a host of others. She has really worked hard to earn her net worth of $28 million.

Personal life

In 2002, she started to date Brandon Blackstock. Brandon is a talent manager. He is the son of her manager.they started dating after Blackstock and his wife divorced. They tied the nuptial knot on October 20, 2013, after ten months of engagement. They became parents to a lovely daughter on April 12, 2016, although her husband has two children from his previous marriage. The family is living together without any hiccup since they became a couple.