Kelly Clarkson initially had no idea she would end up on television when she auditioned for American Idol.
In a candid conversation on the March 27 episode of Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast, the 42-year-old “Since U Been Gone” singer opened up about her experience on the first season of the show in 2002, where she became its first-ever winner.
“For all of us in that first season, we literally didn’t… I didn’t even know it was a TV show until my third audition. Like, we were literally trying to pay our bills.
We’re like, ‘Oh, this might work. I might meet someone or whatever.’ Nobody knew it was gonna amount to anything,” Clarkson shared.
She continued, “We were literally, like, kids — you know, 19 years old just trying to pay my electric bill y’all. You know, and afford the deductible on my car that was bashed in that I couldn’t afford. So it was a different thing.”
In a throwback to her win, Clarkson recalled her time on the show when she was still a relatively unknown contestant.
Clarkson also spoke about the solitary nature of her journey as the first winner of American Idol. “I had no one. I was the first winner. It was hard. Not to sound like, whatever, it was really hard,” she admitted.
She then reflected on the attitudes she faced from others in the music industry, particularly from those who later became coaches on The Voice.
Kelly Clarkson (Photo: NBC)Clarkson noted, “People were really mean,” explaining that some of the people who had been critical of her and the show later ended up as coaches on The Voice.
“People that were really mean have been coaches. You know what I’m saying? Like, hated talent shows. And they ended up being on The Voice,” Clarkson said with a laugh.
“It’s like, okay. But people were really cruel at first. They didn’t like it. It took the industry kind of by storm, the talent shows. It was a very unlikable thing in the industry concerning the populous.”
Reflecting on the irony of the situation, Clarkson found it “hilarious” now, given the overwhelming number of talent shows currently airing on TV.
She also discussed her experience joining The Voice as a coach in 2018, during its 14th season. Clarkson found her background on American Idol allowed her to connect with the contestants in a unique way.
She even had the opportunity to coach alongside fellow Idol alum Jennifer Hudson during the 15th season of The Voice.
“People like us who have been there in that audition process and just being so judged instantaneously, on maybe not your best performance but you know you can do better, it’s a hard — it’s a grueling thing and it’s unforgiving in a lot of ways,” Clarkson explained.
“And a lot of pressure for these artists that I don’t think a lot of artists that sell tons of records would be able to handle. It’s a different thing.”