Kelly Clarkson Talks Music Taste, Struggling With Fame & More on Reddit

Kelly Clarkson held her first-ever AMA in the r/music community on Wednesday (April 22), where she chatted with fans about everything from Harry Potter and riding horses, to the struggles of fame at a young age.

“My question is: you have always seemed so down to earth and positive to me, how have you coped with being in the spotlight for nearly two decades whilst still radiating this happy energy?” one user asked. “You were pretty young when you got your big break, it’s remarkable that you’ve stayed so grounded!”

Clarkson’s response explained that the road to happiness wasn’t a smooth one. “I had one moment in my garage in Texas (many years ago) when I had a mini breakdown and I was talking/crying with my brother and I just kept repeating ‘I can’t take it back’ and what I was meaning was I’m gonna be in the public eye forever now and that’s something you can’t take back once it happens and the weight/pressure of that thought, and the reality of it was so overwhelming, BUT it also put things into perspective for me,” she replied.

“Who cares if everyone doesn’t agree with what I think, sing, wear, or whatever. I basically started looking at my career like the small town I grew up in,” she continued. “everyone has something to say, or can be invasive of your privacy, and for whatever reason that calmed me because I grew up in that atmosphere and so I knew I could handle it. At the end of the day, I don’t care about being famous. I never have. that’s why I’ve struggled with people I’ve worked with in this industry because a lot of people have always had different goals for me so I could be the most famous person ever or the most successful and that’s never been my dream.”

“I have always stuck to my path that I choose, regardless of what that may bring, because as far as I know we get this one life and I’m gonna make damn sure it’s what I want and is as awesome as I can make it ha! fame is just a spotlight,” she concluded. “spotlights can be hard to navigate if you aren’t surrounded by the right people. it’s all about the company you keep with whatever path you choose in my opinion.”

On a lighter note, one fan asked what the songstress’ “most unexpected taste in music” is, and the answer did not disappoint. “I love trippy music like Portishead, and speaking of bands with ‘head’ in it haha I have always loved Radiohead,” she replied. “I actually grew up listening to a lot of alternative music. The Texas band, Toadies, is probably my favorite band of all time. Those concerts were the best! Crowd surfing, sweaty, and singing/screaming at the top of my lungs was my jam :)”

“…..now my jam is reading books by fires with wine and a charcuterie board hahahaha,” she hilariously concluded.

See the full thread here, where Clarkson talks about her musical inspirations, how she stays positive during this time and the sound of an upcoming album.