Inside Kelly Clarkson's First PEOPLE Feature — for “American Idol” in 2002!
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As the magazine celebrates its 50th birthday in 2024, we take a look back at stars' initial appearance in our pages
PEOPLE is celebrating our 50th birthday this year! Throughout 2024, the magazine will be sharing flashbacks highlighting a star's very first PEOPLE feature.
Kelly Clarkson hadn’t yet been crowned the first-ever winner of American Idol when she appeared in a feature in the Sept. 9, 2002 issue of PEOPLE. The singer — who went on to be a Grammy-winning pop-rock superstar and TV host — was then still among the top contestants.
In the reality competition series’ debut season, though, it was an instant pop culture phenomenon, with 15 million viewers tuning weekly and many casting live votes for their favorite performer. Viewers were captivated by the cast of young singers who won over judges Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell — and Clarkson was particularly a fan-favorite as a Texan girl-next-door-type and cocktail waitress with a powerhouse voice.
PEOPLE spoke to and photographed a handful of the top contenders at the tricked-out, eight-bedroom home they lived at together in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles when there were just four contenders left. Then-20-year-old Clarkson pointed out to PEOPLE her most-loved feature of their shared mansion, saying the steam room was her “favorite thing in the morning.” She also shared the go-to snack that she made in their fully-stocked kitchen: a sandwich with honey-wheat bread, turkey, ham, mustard, mayo and corn chips. (“I make 'em good," she added.)
Clarkson opened up about what a whirlwind her experience had been like on the series, and how challenging it had been at times. Not only did she say she got three to four hours of sleep per night, she admitted, “There are days I just don't shower.”
The “Stronger” singer also revealed her trick to keeping her voice from getting strained. “I take it the hard way," she said, revealing that she swallowed a cap-full of olive oil before taking to the stage. "It's very, very nasty."
The singer-songwriter’s friends from her Burleson, Texas hometown spoke to PEOPLE about her life before Idol, as well. One pal, Lindsay Hope, noted that Clarkson used to be shy about her pipes. ("She turned her back before she sang to me," she said.)
Friend Lauren Mankin reflected on one of the performer’s funnier habits. “She could sleep right through the alarm … A lot of times she wouldn't answer the door, and I had to climb over her fence to throw stuff at her window," she said.
Related: Kelly Clarkson 'Never Wanted to Get Married' and Is Enjoying Single Life: 'Dating Sucks' (Exclusive)
Because of that, Clarkson was “terrified of sleeping through her Idol audition” — so much so that her friend Jessica Higgins said she was throwing rocks at her window at 4 a.m., hours before it.
While the host of The Kelly Clarkson Show was having fun with the Idol experience and trying to remain focused on her performance, the musician also told PEOPLE there were moments that took her aback. For instance, actors who also filmed on the FOX lot at the time would tell Idol contestants they were fans and Malcolm in the Middle's Jane Kaczmarek told her that she “would be a such a huge Broadway star.”
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Kaczmarek’s prediction wasn’t far off because now — since the “Since U Been Gone” singer has won three Grammys, judged The Voice and hosted her own talk show — has said she has her sights set on writing a Broadway show.
Since the hitmaker’s appearance in the Sept. 9, 2002 issue of PEOPLE, she’s appeared on the cover a total of five times, including the most recent issue, available on newsstands now.
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