"American Idol" turned KELLY CLARKSON into a star . . . and she knows that . . . but she saysthat at the time she DIDN'T want to win.
For starters, NOT winning would've spared her from doing the"Idol"movie"From Justin to Kelly". It's unclear if the runner-up was contractually obligated to do it, but the winner definitely was, and Kelly says that's the ONLY reason she did it.
She also points out that even though reality competition shows are ubiquitous now, she was basically the first of her kind . . . and the industry did not respect her.
She says, quote, "The first three years of my career was me paying for winning a talent show. I got real bitter . . . [no one] knew what I was going through."
Kelly says several artists gave her a hard time,although some of them have gone on to become judges and coaches on talent competitions. She enjoys the irony of it, but she won't name any names.
She also says that being a coach on"The Voice"has helped her overcome that bitterness . . . because she can help other artists who don't have anyone to relate to. And she also makes it clear that she LOVED being on"Idol".