Kelly Clarkson Says People Who Were 'Really Mean' About Her American Idol Win Ended Up Being Coaches on The Voice

• Kelly Clarkson was American Idol's inaugural winner in 2002
• "People were really cruel at first. They didn't like it," she recalled. "It took the industry kind of by storm, the talent shows"
• The "Since U Been Gone" singer then joked that it was "hilarious" to think about it now

Kelly Clarkson is detailing what it was like to be the first winner of American Idol — and how some critics of the series eventually warmed up to the talent show genre later on.

During an episode of Kylie Kelce's Not Gonna Lie podcast, released Thursday, March 27, the 42-year-old Grammy winner opened up about the music industry's reaction to her breakthrough in 2002, when she became American Idol's first-ever winner.

"I had no one. I was the first winner. It was hard. Not to sound like, whatever, it was really hard," Clarkson said. "People were really mean. People that were really mean have been coaches. You know what I'm saying? Like, hated talent shows. And they ended up being on The Voice."

"It's like, okay. But people were really cruel at first. They didn't like it. It took the industry kind of by storm, the talent shows," she added. "It was a very unlikable thing in the industry concerning the populous."

The "Since U Been Gone" singer then joked that it was "hilarious" to think about it now, considering there are "so many" talent shows on TV.

Elsewhere during her discussion with Kelce, 33, Clarkson opened up about what it was like to join The Voice for its 14th season in 2018.

The musician, who spent nine total seasons on the show, explained how she was able to relate to its contestants given her own background on a competition series. During The Voice's 15th season, she also got to coach alongside fellow Idol alum Jennifer Hudson.

"People like us who have been there in that audition process and just being so judged instantaneously, on maybe not your best performance but you know you can do better, it's a hard — it's a grueling thing and its unforgiving in a lot of ways," Clarkson said.

"And a lot of pressure for these artists that I don't think a lot of artists that sell tons of records would be able to handle. It's a different thing," she continued.

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Clarkson's appearance on the podcast wasn't all focused on Idol. She also spoke with Kelce about motherhood, revealing her personal school system pet peeve. The Kelly Clarkson Show host is mom to two children, son Remington "Remy" Alexander, 8, and daughter River Rose, 10, whom she shares with ex Brandon Blackstock.

"I'm not gonna lie, I don't know when the school systems thought it would be a good plan for families and their emotional stability to start having performances at 10 a.m. during the week. This just in — a lot of us work," she said. "And, [they're] surprising you with it, like not giving you an advance, so you can at least tell your work, 'Hey, I'm gonna need this morning off.' "

"A lot of jobs wouldn't let you do that anyway, but even if you're like the boss and you would have that control, our kids don't understand and we just look like a------- when we're not there," Clarkson continued, before joking, "And, then they go, 'Why was this mom there?' And, then you have to say, 'Because that kid's got a better mom.' "

In September 2024, Hudson, 43, reflected on her own Idol journey when she told PEOPLE that "every part" of that era in her life stands out when she looks back at it. The singer quickly became a fan-favorite on the series' third season, which was ultimately won by Fantasia Barrino.

"Sometimes, you just don't know what time you're in until you look back at it. I would've never known, or how could I have ever known, that 20 years ago, making that choice to do American Idol would start such a huge change in my life," she said.

Hudson added, "[I didn't know] that would set my career, that I could sit here and say, 20 years later, I'm still here in the industry."