Clarkson was the first winner on the US TV show American Idol, and this was released as her first single after she performed the song on the show. In a sign of how American Idol would influence the music industry, the song broke the record for the biggest jump to #1 in the history of the US Hot 100 chart when it soared 52-1 on the week of October 5, 2002. That record had been held for 37 years by The Beatles; in April 1964, "Can't Buy Me Love" rose from 27-1. Clarkson's record was beaten in 2007 by Maroon 5's "It Makes Me Wonder," which went 64-1.
Jorgen Elofsson, who has written songs for many pop acts including Westlife and Britney Spears, wrote this with John Reid of the house music act Nightcrawlers. The song was written specifically for the show, with lyrics about achieving a dream. Each of the American Idol finalists recorded the song in case they won, and Clarkson took the prize over Justin Guarini with 58% of the vote.
This was the biggest-selling single in the USA in 2002. It was not released in the UK.
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