Inside Kelly Clarkson's First PEOPLE Feature — forAmerican Idolin 2002!

Mar. 15, 2025

Kelly Clarkson on American Idol in 2002.

PEOPLE is celebrating our 50thbirthday this year! Throughout 2024, the magazine will be sharing flashbacks highlighting a star’s very first PEOPLE feature.

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.)

Justin Guarini, Nikki McKibbin and Kelly Clarkson in the Sept. 9, 2002 issue of ‘PEOPLE’.

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 beforeIdol, 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.

Kelly Clarkson on ‘American Idol’ in 2002.Kevin Winter/Getty

Because of that, Clarkson was “terrified of sleeping through herIdolaudition” — 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 ofThe Kelly Clarkson Showwas having fun with theIdolexperience 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 tellIdolcontestants they were fans andMalcolm in the Middle’s Jane Kaczmarek told her that she “would be a such a huge Broadway star.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kaczmarek’s prediction wasn’t far off because now — since the “Since U Been Gone” singer has won three Grammys, judgedThe Voiceand hosted her own talk show — has said she has hersights 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.

Kelly Clarkson on the cover of PEOPLE.

source: people.com