Kelly Clarkson has come along way since winning the relatively humble $125,000 prize from the first season of American Idol, now bringing in a hefty sum of money in the millions for her salary working as a coach on NBC’s The Voice. With season 20 marking her seventh season on the show, only Adam Levine and Blake Shelton have appeared on more episodes than her. Besides clearly enjoying herself on the show, she’s got a great reason to stick around: the paycheck. The show pays a steep fee to keep her around. It’s all about timing, and lucky for Kelly Clarkson, the timing worked out to her advantage.
Clarkson managed to turn her win on the premier season of American Idol in 2002 into a long-lasting career. She has since released eight albums, done voice work for animated movies, appeared in commercials, written a children’s book, and has her own daytime talk show, along with a regular spot on The Voice. Clarkson herself didn’t think that American Idol would give her as much success as she’s had. Given that, why didn’t she return to her roots, this time as a judge on the American Idol reboot? Apparently, it all came down to a bidding war.
Unfortunately for American Idol, they decided to reboot around the same time that The Voice sought out Clarkson and offered her one of the four red chairs. In the end, The Voice offered Clarkson a reported $14 million per season, according to Life & Style. American Idol lost the bidding war and had to change directions, hiring Katy Perry to join their judging panel. As grateful as Clarkson has been to American Idol for giving her a start, she has every right to focus on her career.
The Voice gives Clarkson more of a chance to work with hopefuls more than she would be able to on American Idol. In her seven seasons so far, she has coached three winning contestants. That makes puts her firmly in second place among the coaches. The only one who has chosen more winners is Blake Shelton, though he has the advantage of having been on all 20 seasons of the show. At the rate she is choosing winners, though, Clarkson has the chance to catch up with him.
Kelly Clarkson has become a fan-favorite on The Voice and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Viewers admire that she has been on both sides of a singing competition. She demonstrates what hopefuls can achieve if they’re willing to put in hard work. She fits right in with the other coaches, throwing as much good-natured shade as she takes. She and coach Nick Jonas seem to be developing a friendly rivalry on the show. Clarkson throws her all into everything she does, and this competition is no different.
Source: Life & Style