Gossip columnist reveals which ‘Voice’ coach was ‘mean’ to Kelly Clarkson — trust me, we were stunned too
Kelly Clarkson created history by becoming the first 'American Idol' in 2002. She ended up mentoring contestants on 'The Voice' for almost eight years since 2018, after experiencing resounding success with her music career. However, Clarkson recently courted controversy with her scathing remarks over a former A-lister coach being rude during her formative years: “People were really mean. People that were really mean have been coaches. They hated talent shows, and they ended up being on The Voice. People were really cruel at first. They didn't like it,” she added. It took the industry kind of by storm, the talent shows. It was a very unlikable thing in the industry concerning the populous. Now there are so many,” she famously said while appearing on Kylie Kelce's 'Not Gonna Lie' podcast.
Clarkson refused to name the music icon while venting her ire, however, a popular freelancer and gossip columnist, Rob Shuter, claimed on his Substack that the former 'Idol' was hinting at Christina Aguilera, as per The Sun. “It was Christina,” Shuter alleged in his write-up. “She was openly dismissive of Kelly from day one — she didn’t think a reality show winner belonged in the big leagues.” The journalist claimed that insiders told him Aguilera treated Clarkson with inferiority. “Christina saw Kelly as a manufactured pop act — someone who hadn’t paid her dues,” an insider stated. “It was classic diva behavior.”
“She remembers exactly how it felt to be the new girl no one wanted at the lunch table,” one of Clarkson's close friends said. “Now that she’s in the mentor seat, she’s making sure no one else feels that small.” It has been reported that Aguilera might have carried animosity towards the 'Because of You' singer over a hit track. Clarkson has openly admitted that her 2003 single, 'Miss Independent,' skyrocketed her to fame. “Everybody wanted me to do ballads straight off of [American] Idol. I was like, ‘No, I really like this song. I want to set up some kind of precedent.’ She added, “It was very important to me as an artist, and I got to write on it as well, which was important to me.”
However, the debut track from the album 'Thankful', which earned a Grammy nomination for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performer, sold over 1,560,000 units and reigned on the Billboard 100 chart at number 10, was initially supposed to feature on Aguilera's 'Stripped' album. “My label at the time didn’t tell me, but I guess the producers and writers started it with her, but then it wasn’t finished, so I ended up writing the rest and finishing it without even knowing she was on it or ever a part of it.” Clarkson later confessed to the goof-up while appearing on 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen'.
“I swear to God, I got my album booklet and I was like, ‘Oh my God, my first album,’ and then I was like, ‘Why is Christina Aguilera on it? That’s weird?’ And I love her, so I’m like, ‘Cool… but what?’ It was a weird thing,” she concluded.