Kelly Clarkson
 The U.S. has its new American Idol, and her name is Kelly Clarkson. The 20-year-old cocktail waitress from Texas got what she asked for when she crooned her signature song, Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” - and now she has it in spades. Some 15-million viewers phoned in and made her the winner of the hit summer TV series. Even quick-quipping Simon Cowell, the British judge with a penchant for the withering insult, wiped away a tear at the result.
 Clarkson earned a recording contract, and will release a CD single and an album later this year. More than 100 million votes were cast over the course of the show this summer. Fox stretched out the suspense in a two-hour show, announcing the winner seven minutes before it ended, and taking advantage of the celebrities sprinkled throughout the crowd at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, including sitcom stars Ray Romano and Jane Kaczmarek, of “Malcolm in the Middle.”
One viewer, singer Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, said she voted five times for Clarkson, her fellow Texan. “I knew from the first episode that Kelly was the best one on there,” Maines said. In Clarkson's hometown of Burleson, Texas, more than 500 students and their parents gathered in the gym of her old high school to cheer her victory.
 “I'm just proud of her. It's like a dream to see our friend fulfill her dream,” said Ashley Donovan, who worked with Clarkson in a movie theater about 10 miles south of Fort Worth.
 Clarkson sang in her school's choir and performed the lead in the school production of “Brigadoon” her senior year. She tried to make it in the music industry in Los Angeles after graduation, but returned to Burleson discouraged over rejection
All three of the show's judges -- Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul -- thought Clarkson was the more deserving of the two finalists. The British Cowell also said he had to “begrudgingly admit the talent is better here.”
Trying to discover stars among amateurs has a long history in American entertainment; Frank Sinatra won a radio amateur hour in 1937. More recently, the band O-Town's career was launched through ABC's “Making the Band” and Eden's Crush on the WB's Popstars. Will Y oung, who won the British version of “American Idol,” sold more than 1 million copies of his first single. Fox featured the show's top performers on a Sept. 23 special. Reportedly, they'll head out on tour soon after.
Since winning her American Idol title, Clarkson sang the national anthem at the Lincoln Memorial on Sept. 11. A sequel  to the show is expected on Fox this winter.
Late breaking news: Kelly's first single has officially gone gold! It didn't take long for over 500,000 of you to snatch up your copies of A Moment Like This/Before Your Love. Kelly broke a record with her Billboard number one hit. According to MTV News ("Kelly Clarkson Crushes Singles Chart Competition"), Kelly's single sold more than 236,000 copies in its first week, besting its closest competitor, Nivea's "Don't Mess With My Man" by over 230,000 copies.
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