Kelly Clarksonhas come a long way.
“Who would have thought, right? [From] cocktail waitress to having your own show. It’s cool,” says the star of her amazing journey.
In this week’s issue of PEOPLE. Clarkson opens up about taking on her upcoming syndicatedKelly Clarkson Show, premiering Sept. 9 on NBC-owned stations as the lead in toEllen —and the wild ride she’s taken to get to this point.
Clarkson, now 37, burst onto the scene as a contestant on the first season ofAmerican Idol17 years ago. The cheerful cocktail waitress from Fort Worth, Texas, immediately blew judges away with her powerful voice and she went on to become cemented in pop culture history as the inaugural winner of the hit show.
Kelly Clarkson in 2002.Kevin Winter/Getty
Simon Cowell, Kelly Clarkson, Paula Abdul, Justin Guarini, and Randy Jackson in 2002.
Still, she’s not complaining. “It’s like thatRascal Flattssong. Like, ‘God Bless the Broken Road’,” she says. “Because it’s really cool, where it’s brought me.”
After making it through a tough childhood — “We moved around and there was divorce. I had total abandonment issues,” she says — the star built up a confidence that she’d use to help get her through the throes of fame. In her 20s she took top music execs and her old label to task for trying to change her.
Kelly Clarkson on the cover of PEOPLE.Jim Wright
“I’ve just had so many jerks in my life tell me what I should be doing, ‘This is what a pop star should do, blah blah blah.’ It really helped me signify for myself what I should be doing for me,” she says. “So I kind of thank all those jerks. It helped solidify who I am.”
Now, gearing up to host her own talk show, she’s admittedly nervous for one of the first times in her career. “I had a complete panic attack last night in my closet with my husband,” she says. “I was like, ‘What am I doing? I hope I don’t fail.'”
That said, Clarkson is trying not to put too much pressure on herself. “I’m aware that not everyone’s going to like me. I don’t even like everyone,” she says. “So when you wrap your head around that, all ego goes out the door.”
Kelly Clarkson on the set of her talk show.Jim Wright
And as far as she’s concerned, she’s already won.
For more onKelly Clarkson’s journey fromAmerican Idolwinner to the new face of daytime, pick up this week’s issue ofPEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
TheKelly ClarksonShowpremieres Monday, Sept. 9 in syndication on NBC-owned television stations. For more information visitKellyClarksonShow.com.
source: people.com
