Back in 2002, Kelly Clarkson skyrocketed to fame as the first winner of American Idol, and more than two decades later she’s parlayed that experience into 10 studio albums, three Grammys, a longtime stint as a coach on The Voice, an Emmy-winning daytime talk show and more. But it turns out she didn’t win everyone over immediately, as there was apparently at least one higher-up at American Idol who was “not a fan.” Clarkson recently got real about why that was, as well as what really got her down at the start of her career.
Kelly Clarkson opened up on the Smartless podcast about how she doesn’t like wearing makeup because she’s “highly allergic,” and while that sounds reasonable enough, it was apparently a “big thing” on American Idol. The contestant drew the ire of some running the show back then, recalling:
I got in trouble on American Idol. They were like, ‘So we’re about to be on camera,’ and I was like, ‘I know,’ And they were like, ‘But you’re going to be on camera,’ and I was like, ‘I know.’ And it was like, ‘OK, well do you want any makeup, or hair done?’ And I was like, ‘I’m in a house right now. You’re doing behind the scenes. I’m not on stage.’ I was like, ‘I mean I’ll do it for stage, but why are we doing this now?’ But one producer in particular, very high up, was not a fan of me just because I didn’t play that game. And it wasn’t even playing a game.
While some of the Fox executives may have been wary of Kelly Clarkson’s aversion to hair and makeup, I would dare to say her DGAF attitude and the ability to not getting caught up in the glam of it all — for whatever reason — is part of why America fell in love with her and continues to relate with her.
Obviously the makeup thing wasn’t the biggest hurdle Kelly Clarkson had to overcome, as she said that becoming famous practically overnight came with some “really cool moments and then a lot of not great ones.” But it wasn’t the increased workload or pressure that really affected her, she said. It was dealing with people in the industry. Clarkson explained:
It’s more the human factor, it’s not the work. I’ve always had, like, three or four jobs at a time. I’ve always enjoyed being busy. I like being productive. So it wasn’t so much, the scheduling was intense, but it wasn’t too much. It’s the human factor, it’s the lying. It’s like, what are we doing here? It’s the lying, literally, and that really got me down. The human factor got me down.
Kelly Clarkson apparently had some tough lessons to learn about trusting people in the entertainment industry, but you can’t argue that she’s come out on the other side of it. Check your local listings to see when to catch the OG American Idol champ on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and be sure to take a peek at our 2024 TV schedule to see what premieres are headed our way soon.
