How Kelly Clarkson Was Encouraged By Jennifer Love Hewitt During Her American Idol Days
Kelly Clarkson has had an incredibly successful career since she first hit the scene in the early 2000s. Aside from being a Grammy-winning singer, she’s also become an actress and popular talk show host. Of course, her journey all began with her stint on American Idol’s debut season, which saw her emerge as the series’ first-ever winner. The road wasn’t always easy for Clarkson though, as she recently revealed that some celebrities were “really mean” to her and her fellow Idol alums while they were filming that first season. But Clarkson actually got a bit of encouragement from a surprise source -- Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Jennifer Love Hewitt recently appeared on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show and, when kicking off the conversation, Clarkson recalled meeting Hewitt for the first time at an awards ceremony years ago. According to the host, she and the other American Idol stars who attended were treated poorly:
But Kelly Clarkson recalls that things that evening took a positive turn when she was approached by Jennifer Love Hewitt. The actress showed Clarkson some kindness and gave her some keen advice for her rising career:
The fact that Jennifer Love Hewitt went out of her way to express love and support for a young Kelly Clarkson is really sweet. And based on Clarkson’s sentiments on the show, the advice really stuck with her in the years that followed.
Speaking of years, it’s honestly hard to believe that it’s been over 18 years since Kelly Clarkson was crowned the first American Idol. Last year, Clarkson marked the anniversary with a sweet social media post that likely made plenty of people nostalgic.
Clarkson seems to hold generally positive feelings about her time on the reality competition show, and she even returned to give a powerful performance a few years ago. Still, she has expressed her hopes that her kids don’t find their way into the music industry and compete on a show like American Idol. This mostly stems from the difficulties that come with the industry.
Luckily, Kelly Clarkson has made it through just fine with her skills and the encouragement of people like Jennifer Love Hewitt. One can never underestimate the power of kind words and, in times like these, they’re definitely needed.
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Erik Swann is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He began working with the publication in 2020 when he was hired as Weekend Editor. Today, he continues to write, edit and handle social media responsibilities over the weekend. On weekdays, he also writes TV and movie-related news and helps out with editing and social media as needed. He graduated from the University of Maryland, where he received a degree in Broadcast Journalism. After shifting into multi-platform journalism, he started working as a freelance writer and editor before joining CB. Covers superheroes, sci-fi, comedy, and almost anything else in film and TV. He eats more pizza than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.