Two of American Idol‘s most famous contestants, Kelly Clarkson and Kellie Pickler, reunited on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday (Dec. 2) and ended up sharing a few secrets about the show’s audition process.
Pickler, who appeared as a guest on the show alongside actor and comedian Nick Offerman, revealed that one of her Idol audition songs was actually Clarkson’s mega-hit “Since U Been Gone.”
“I didn’t know that,” Clarkson confessed.
“Oh my gosh, yes, big fan,” Pickler said.
She went on to share details behind her audition, which included a total of three rounds.
“I actually auditioned with ‘The Sweetest Thing’ by Juice Newton, went through to the next round and then sang that one again,” she said.
During another round of auditions, then-judge Paula Abdul asked Pickler to sing “something pop.”
“I just started singing your song and I was terrified,” Pickler shared.
“That would not be my go-to for an audition,” Clarkson laughed. “That’s a hell of a song!”
Clarkson went on to share that she had to sing a few songs during her audition as well.
“They had all of us do that though. I had to sing like three different ones,” she explained. “I was like, ‘Am I still proving that I can sing on key here? What is happening?’”
Clarkson was crowned the winner of the first season of American Idol, while Pickler finished in sixth place in the fifth season of the show.
Watch a clip from the interview above.
