Kelly Clarkson reveals that an American Idol producer was NOT a fan because of makeup
Kelly Clarkson reveals that a certain American Idol producer was not a fan because she refused to a ton of makeup.
“They were like, ‘So we’re about to be on camera,’ and I was like, ‘I know,’” Kelly, said on the Monday, February 26, episode of the “Smartless” podcast. “And they were like, ‘But you’re going to be on camera,’ and I was like, ‘I know.’”
Kelly would wear makeup on stage for the show, but not when producers were filming “behind-the-scenes” footage for video packages.
“But one producer in particular, very high up, was not a fan of me just because I didn’t play that game,” she said. “And it wasn’t even playing a game. The other four girls that season were very into that stuff. They were very into it.”
The top 10 finalists included four other women, Tamyra Gray, Christina Christian, Ryan Starr and the late Nikki McKibbin. The group toured together from October to November 2002. Kelly won the inaugural season of American Idol in September of that year.
The former The Voice coach joked she was “the most amazing person to tour with” because she was “never in the makeup and hair chair,” saying, “They would have to force me to sit there.”
The Kelly Clarkson Show host explained that she’s “highly allergic” to anything that “gets near [her] eyes,” so she “doesn’t enjoy wearing it.” While noting she “loves the art” of makeup, she said it’s “not [her] thing.”
The road to stardom was bumpy
She also shared about how the road to stardom after winning American Idol was not smooth sailing. She said that things were “bumpy from the beginning” because “nobody knew what to do” with her since she crossed over into several genres of music, including pop, R&B and Country.
“Everybody kinda had a different plan,” she said. “And nobody knew that it would be successful in their defense. They were like, ‘Yeah, this kid from this show.’ Like, I understand that. And I understood it then, by the way.”
Kelly described how upset she was upon learning the winner of the show would have to do a movie. She “cried so hard” and didn’t want to act. The movie musical From Justin to Kelly also starred runner-up Justin Guarini and ended up being a huge flop at the box office.
“I was so worried because my goal was to sing and tour and do stuff like that. I was so worried that it was going to ruin any chance of me being taken seriously as an artist,” she said. Kelly begged the label to release her first single before the movie came out, which she believes saved her.
