Kelly Clarkson on Why Movie Deal Soured ‘American Idol’ Win
In 2002, Kelly Clarkson famously won the first season of the hit singing competition, American Idol. But in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly commemorating the 15th anniversary of her victory, the singer admits that she actually hoped to finish second, to Justin Guarini.
“I do remember Justin and I having a conversation before, because we found out we had to do a movie,” Clarkson told EW. “He really wanted to do a movie. And I really didn’t want to do a movie. I was like, ‘It would be super cool if I got second and you got first, because the winner has to do the movie and the second one doesn’t.'”
Clarkson, of course, was crowned the winner, with nearly nine million people voting in support of her soaring vocals. She and Guarini co-starred in the 2003 flick From Justin to Kelly the following year, a box office flop that she likes to pretend never happened.
“I just want it to go away,” she told Time in 2015. “I want to own all of it. I just want it to not be here.” And, she added, she has no plans of telling daughter River Rose that such a movie exists.
Earlier this year, Clarkson announced she will join The Voice as a coach on the show’s 14th season. The Voice’s taping schedule worked best for her family. “It’s such a cool thing to have that leverage, to have an audience into you before you even have a record deal,” she told EW. “I want to give someone that opportunity.”
Clarkson dropped two singles off her upcoming album, Meaning of Life, earlier this week – “Love So Soft” and “Move You.” Meaning of Life is due out on October 27th.