Kelly Clarkson is now a world-renowned singer and talk show host of The Kelly Clarkson Show, but years ago, she was just a girl from Texas trying to make it big on American Idol. She did just that, of course, winning the first season of the show, and on a recent episode of her talk show, she reflected on the difficulties that came along with competing on Idol.
Clarkson recently invited musician Seal to the show as a guest, and he commented on the strength and confidence it must have taken to compete on a show like Idol and, specifically, having to deal with the opinions — and sometimes, online negativity — of viewers across the country.
"I wouldn't have done it," Seal says of competing on Idol. "It takes a certain amount of courage to put yourself out there and be judged amongst other people and be critiqued on a show, on a world stage. I don't know if everyone realizes how hard that is, to put yourself out there and have people tell you how good you were or how bad you were and you having to take it on a show like you did. I wouldn't have had the courage to do that."
Clarkson admits that the show was a bit of a "bootcamp" for her, and while she was able to withstand comments from judges and the public, she says it was tough to watch her fellow contestants deal with the judgement from others.
"It was more hard, not for me, but to watch other people — I'm always that person, like, it's hard for me to watch other people go through something," Clarkson said. "And, like, other artists were not handling it well, like what people would say online."
"That was harder, watching people, you know, break their spirit a bit," she says of her fellow contestants.
In the end, Clarkson is thankful for the experience, as it taught her how to survive in the music industry. She also revealed that the experience was somewhat easier for her to endure, as she had "nothing to lose" when she entered the competition.
"When you have no home, my place had burned down, I was living in my car for a bit, like, I had nothing. I had nothing," Clarkson says. "I think when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose, so you show up and you go, 'Sure you can laugh, but if I'm getting paid, I'm laughing all the way to the bank.'"
American Idol has undoubtedly changed since Clarkson won the first season in 2002. It now airs on ABC with hosts Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry.
