Kelly Clarkson has officially been honoured with a Hollywood star.
The first “American Idol” was celebrated on Monday during her Walk Of Fame Star Ceremony in Hollywood. Clarkson, 40, was surrounded by her team, friends, colleagues and her two children- daughter River Rose, 8, and son Remington, 6- for the remarkable achievement, which also saw all three of “American Idol”‘s original judges reunite.
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Twenty years after Clarkson was crowned the first winner of the singing competition show by judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, they joined forces once again to pay tribute to the contestant that “validated” the show.
“Where we were very lucky with Kelly was that not only could we find someone with a hell of a good voice, but she also had this amazing sense of humour, personality, charisma,” Cowell said in a press release, noting that “American Idol” wouldn’t have gained popularity without Clarkson.
During the ceremony, Cowell complimented the Grammy award-winning singer and TV host, saying, “Thanks to you, I’m here today. You validated what we did. If we didn’t find a star, there’s no point in doing these shows.”
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Before Clarkson gave her own speech and proceeded to take photos with her star, Abdul also spoke during the ceremony, as well as Jason Halbert, who’s been Clarkson’s music director since 2003.
“This is where I won 20 years ago,” Clarkson shared. “I feel very lucky and fortunate because I know a lot of talented people that love singing and are amazing at it and writing songs, and even talk show hosts — a lot of people could do that, and I just feel very fortunate that I get the chance. There are dreams you didn’t know you had and they end up happening and you feel super blessed.”
Clarkson “has been long deserving of a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” said Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame.
“She has been an iconic person in American pop culture since she walked onto the first audition stage on ‘American Idol’ and has continued to impress fans with her musical and talk show prowess,” Martinez emphasized in a press release.
Clarkson’s star is the 2,733rd one located on the star-studded sidewalk at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.
