Kelly Clarkson reveals she still hasn't received the car she won on American Idol 24 years ago
'Clay Aiken, who didn't win the second season, got a car, and his mom!' the celebrity singer revealed.
Kelly Clarkson, a famous singer, a daytime talk show host, and the first-ever winner of American Idol, had some frustrations to dish out about the singing competition. Clarkson, who won the show at 20 years of age, revealed the true nature of her prize to her celebrity guests, Daniel Radcliffe and Rob Rausch. In a clip shared on Instagram by The Brandon Gonez Show (@brandongonezshow) on March 12, Kelly told Daniel and Rob that she still hasn't received the prize that the show promised her. In her words, "I literally was on the show, and they were like, 'Oh, you win a million dollars or whatever.' No, you didn't. They lied!"
Kelly elaborated on why she accused American Idol of lying. The $1 million she signed up for was not given to her as a literal cash prize. She explained, "It was like a million dollars worth of investment in you," but that's not it. There's more. Kelly revealed the show's false promise, "Then they said, 'You'd get a car,' and I needed it because my car was bashed in and I couldn't afford the deductible... I did not get a car!" She even named Clay Aiken, the runner-up on American Idol season 2, saying, "Clay Aiken, who didn't win the second season, got a car, and his mom!"
Despite not receiving the car she was promised, Kelly Clarkson went on to make a name for herself in the music industry. 24 years after her appearance on American Idol, she has released 10 studio albums, headlined eight tours, and two residencies. She has also dabbled in acting in a handful of films and appeared as a guest judge on singing reality competition shows such as "Duets" and "The Voice." She even started her own daytime talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show" in 2019, which has been running for seven seasons so far.
American Idol is on its 24th season, with Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan as the judges. According to a press release shared by ABC on February 3, "American Idol returned for a new season, jumping to 8.27 million Total Viewers and a 1.04 rating among Adults 18-49 after three days of viewing on ABC, Hulu, Hulu on Disney+, and digital platforms." It also states, "the show rose +20% among Total Viewers versus the previous season premiere (8.27 million vs. 6.88 million)." A poll conducted by Morning Consult in 2019 showed that Lionel Richie (70%) and Jennifer Lopez (70%) are the most "favorable" judges on American Idol.
Under the Instagram post, some viewers claim Kelly did not read the fine print. @meetthemiethes wrote, "She actually got what she signed up for; she just didn’t read the fine print. She got a record deal 'worth $1 million' I believe was the wording back then, so that’s kind of blurry language. Does sound like she got screwed on the car, though." @thinkmenice added, "A lot of people don't read the terms and conditions in the audition forms. Just bright-eyed and willing to participate." @h.streete believed that even though Clarkson did not get the million in cash, or the car, it worked out for her in the end. They wrote, "To be fair, that investment got her far."
Follow Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) for more music-related and singing competition content.
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