Kelly Clarkson revealed the reason why she’s hosting ‘The Voice’ and not ‘Idol’ in this week’s issue of Entertaiment Weekly. Turns out it’s all about family.
The singer also opened up about why she didn’t want to win ‘Idol’ back in 2002. Kelly’s forthcoming album ‘Meaning of Life’ drops on October 27th.
According to Kelly it’s all about family
When news broke that ABC would take on American Idol in 2018 after its cancellation by Fox, show producers wanted fan-favorite Kelly Clarkson back for the revamp. But, Clarkson had already signed to serve as coach on ‘The Voice’ in 2018. The singer discussed the decision with Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Thursday.
And it’s no dissing to the competition, but as a matter of fact, a family thing. She just thought that the Idol reboot might be a bit hasty.
“It’s a little too soon, because I was pregnant with my son when it ended and he’s only 1,” she laughed about bringing Idol back after one year. “I want it to be a great experience for my whole family, and that’s what I have to think about at this point in my life,” she said.
Clarkson’s husband and manager, Brandon Blackstock also manages Voice coach Blake Shelton, so Clarkson spends a lot of time on the Voice set with her four kids already.
“We’re used to The Voice schedule, we already have to work around it because of our family. We have four children — that can be very taxing with a schedule. It was just a no-brainer for me with The Voice because of that alone.”
That doesn’t mean she isn’t disappointed she can’t do both. “But my thing is, I was kind of bummed too when [Idol] came to me,” she said. “I hope it’s super successful.” Clarkson remains grateful for the start Idol gave her, and wants to give back to other aspiring musicians.
“That’s my goal, I want to have someone on my team, whether they win or not, to have a successful career after being on the show.”
The three-time Grammy winner will join The Voice for its 14th season in spring 2018, making her the second Idol competitor to recently join the NBC singing competition’s coaching panel. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, a top-10 finisher in Idol’s third season, will appear on this fall’s edition of The Voice.
Not a fan of ‘From Justin to Kelly’
In 2002, Kelly Clarkson famously won the first season of the hit singing competition, American Idol. But in the 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.
Despite the setback, Clarkson’s career took off. She’s since had multiple albums chart at No. 1 on Billboard.
“I just want it to go away, I want to own all of it. I just want it to not be here,” she told Time in 2015.
And, she added, she has no plans of telling daughter River Rose that such a movie exists.
Coming on with new tunes
Kelly has a lot going on right now, not only she’s getting ready to ser ve as a coach on ‘The Voice’ but is about to drop her new album. The singer unveiled two new songs, ‘Love So Soft’ and ‘Move You,’ from her forthcoming album, ‘Meaning of Life’, out October 27th.
On ‘Love So Soft,’ Clarkson belts to a syncopated beat a la ‘Miss Independent.’
It already has an official video which is a hyper-stylized array of sets and dancers that culminates with a mansion exploding while Clarkson sings around flying debris. ‘Move You,’ meanwhile, is a soulful ballad with a powerful drum-string combination. Clarkson carries the song to a rapturous peak before descending gracefully.
“Like the first time that I met you, I fell so hard, so fast,” Clarkson sings over guitar. “Like the montage in a movie/ The way you move me/ I want to move you like that.”
Clarkson performed ‘Love So Soft’ and ‘Move You’ on ‘The Today Show’ on September 8th.
‘Meaning of Life’ follows Clarkson’s 2015 album ‘Piece by Piece’.
The record features past collaborators Jason Halbert, Jesse Shatkin and Greg Kurstin, as well as Mick Schultz, The Monarch and Nick Ruth.
Source: AOL