We all know that Kelly Clarkson was the very first person to win American Idol back in 2002. Her debut single “A Moment Like This” was the best-selling single of 2002, which set the tone for her long and successful career that includes over 100 number ones on various Billboard charts, three GRAMMY Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, four American Music Awards and two Academy of Country Music Awards.
On top of all her accolades as a singer, she has been a coach on The Voice for nine seasons, winning four times. She also has hosted her own daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show since September 2019. The show has won 13 Daytime Emmy Awards, with Clarkson herself winning three for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.
Even though she’s lived the last 20+ years in the spotlight, there are still lots of things we didn’t know about her, but have always wanted to know! Let’s take a look at 7 things we didn’t know about our favorite American Idol winner.
1. One Of The First Albums She Ever Bought Was Her Future Mother-In-Law’s
Clarkson had a candid conversation with Entertainment Tonight and was asked what the first album she ever bought as a child was.
“I actually bought three at the same time,” she said. “Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction, some Boyz II Men discs and Reba McEntire. I love everything.”
Little did she know that McEntire would eventually become her mother-in-law! Clarkson was married to Brandon Blackstock, the stepson of everyone’s (and Kelly’s) favorite red-headed country singer. And guess who Clarkson’s kids call Grandma?! Reba!
While both Reba and Kelly are no longer married to the Blackstock father-son duo, the two remain close. They recorded a duet together to Clarkson’s song “Because Of You” for McEntire’s duets album in 2007. Watch their music video for the song below..
2. She Wrote One Of Her No. 1 Hits When She Was Only 16
A talented songwriter, Clarkson began penning tunes when she was a mere teenager. She turned to music to help her cope with the divorce of her parents and ended up writing “Because of You.” They divorced when she was 6 years old. She continued to live with her mom, while her brother moved with her dad, and her sister went to live with an Aunt.
She initially wanted to include “Because Of You” on her debut album Thankful, but the record label felt it wasn’t ready yet. With the help of her producers David Hodges and Ben Moody, she cleaned it up and released it on her second album, Breakaway. It went on to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart and has gone on to be a fan favorite and concert staple.
3. She Was Once An Extra On Sabrina the Teenage Witch
In the late 1990s, a staple in many American homes was to stay home on a Friday night with your family and watch ABC’s TGIF lineup of TV comedies, which included the sitcoms Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Before she was a famous singer, or even before she auditioned for American Idol, Clarkson appeared as an extra in an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Thankfully, a show she made an appearance on after Idol, aired the short clip and we all got a good laugh.
4. She Has No Good Memories From Her Film From Justin To Kelly
After she won American Idol, part of her contract was to make a movie with runner-up, Justin Guarini. It wasn’t just a movie, it was a movie musical filled with dancing and singing, and was about two people who have a chance meeting during Spring Break in Florida and fall in love even though there are a million obstacles in their way.
During an interview with Buzzfeed, Clarkson was asked if there were any crazy on-set moments from filming the movie.
Clarkson responded, “I have no great memories from From Justin to Kelly. [I was] legally obligated and cried so hard to try to get out of it. I know a lot of people like it; they come up to me and I’m always like, ‘Why?’ But I’ve just never wanted to be an actress, and any time you have seen me acting, it’s just because I really just wanna hang out with the people that I’m doing the movie with.”
She later appeared in the comedy TV show The Crazy Ones only because it starred Robin Williams, and she filmed an episode on McEntire’s show Reba because obviously she loves her.
“Other than that I’m not like, ‘Yeah, let’s act today!’ That’s never a thing that I say ever, in my brain or aloud. So I wasn’t very excited about [From Justin to Kelly]. It wasn’t The Shawshank Redemption, y’all,” she said with a laugh.
Recently, Kelly appeared on an episode of The Rookie, but again…she’s a huge fan of the show!
Watch the trailer for the movie below.
5. She Will Perform On Broadway…Someday
When she was living in Nashville, we’re sure she’s performed plenty of times on Broadway, which is a major thoroughfare in Music City that includes countless bars and locations for artists to perform, but we are talking Broadway in New York, people!
Settle down, she hasn’t signed on to star in a Broadway musical yet, but she assured us in an interview with Buzzfeed that she will someday.
“I would definitely do Broadway. I will definitely do Broadway; it’s not a matter of if, it’s just a matter of when. I grew up doing musical theater, so I’m kind of really picky about doing the right thing…I love Broadway too, and I don’t necessarily want to just step into a role. I want to do something from the ground up; I think that would be cool to be the original role.”
If she isn’t able to originate a role, she would love to play Barbra Streisand’s character in Funny Girl.
“We have the same birthday, and I feel as though I am that character in life,” she said.
Her Broadway dreams are not far off. She recently was included on the Hamilton Mixtape, where she sang the song “It’s Quiet Uptown” from the hit musical Hamilton. Watch her perform that song below.
6. She’s Obsessed With Meryl Streep
An avid Meryl Streep fan, Clarkson has seen just about all her films, and then some.
When she was pregnant with her daughter, River, she got extremely ill and all she watched was clips of Ellen DeGeneres, Jimmy Fallon and “anything Meryl Streep-related.”
She also admitted to Us Weekly, “I was extremely hormonal and miserable from vomiting. I apparently called my assistant crying, ‘I’ll never be Meryl Streep!’ I don’t remember this, but I don’t think my assistant could make that kind of ridiculous statement up.”
After taking her stepdaughter, Savannah, to see Into The Woods, which stars Streep as the Witch, she tweeted how much they all enjoyed the film and said, “I pray to God I never meet her to ensure I don’t make a fool of myself. Yep.”
Well, she did meet Meryl Streep…and she almost fell down! Watch it happen below.
7. She Once Said She Had No Desire To Have Children
According to Fame 10, Clarkson once revealed in 2009 that she didn’t want to have children because she thought she’d be a bad mother. Fast forward 8 years, and she is a mother of four!
In 2013, Clarkson married Brandon Blackstock, and became a stepmom to his children, Savannah and Seth. They added to their brood in 2014 with daughter River, and in 2016 with son Remington. She and Blackstock are currently divorce, but one things for sure…her kids come first.
RELATED: Kelly Clarkson Brings Son Remington To The Grammys
Which fact about Kelly Clarkson surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments!