Simon Cowell believes Kelly Clarkson saved American Idol

Simon Cowell believes Kelly Clarkson saved American Idol

• Simon Cowell has opened up on his first experiences with Kelly Clarkson 
• Kelly was a contestant on the first season of American Idol 
• And in an interview the two shares the conversations and occurrences that happened  between the two 

Kelly Clarkson has finally been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This is a true testament to the talent she’s brought over the years since being a contestant on American Idol. At the event judge, Simon Cowell gave a speech about the impact Kelly has made on the music industry saying, “I actually thought I was being punked on the first day. Paula [Abdul] resigned, every singer was out of tune, and I thought, ‘Well this is a joke.’ It got worse, progressively. So I thought this is an absolute disaster. Like, why did I come here? And thank God, I remember the day we met you. I remember not just your voice, but your personality. I’m gonna be honest here, I didn’t realize at that point, honestly how good you were. I just liked you. And I was so thankful.”

Praising Kelly

He then went on to praise Kelly, “I remember that moment when your name was called, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Thanks to you, we may have another season.’ I can honestly say to you, thanks to you. You validated what we did because if we didn’t find a star, there was no point in doing these shows. I could never predict what was going to happen then. I remember talking to the record label at the time, and I said, ‘I don’t think you realize who you signed here. This girl has steel in her eyes.

She’s one of those people who, from day one, was respectful to the people who voted for her, who bought her records, who bought her tickets — and she’s never lost that. This is the Kelly you see. The Kelly you see in front of the camera is that Kelly you see behind the camera.”