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Kelly Clarkson and Simon Cowell have known each other for years since Clarkson’s time on season one of “American Idol,” and they’ve become closer friends throughout the years.
When Simon Cowell injured his back in 2020 and had to be away from “America’s Got Talent” for a short time, Clarkson stepped into the judging role. In a recent interview on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Cowell critiqued her judging and revealed if he thought she did a good job filling in for him.
Clarkson is no stranger to competition television. As an “American Idol” winner and judge on “The Voice,” she was not stepping far out of her wheelhouse to fill in for Cowell.
Cowell Says Clarkson ‘Almost Did Too Well’
When talking about his back injury and having to be away from “America’s Got Talent,” Clarkson said that she filled in for Cowell.
“And you almost did too well, Kelly,” Cowell remarked.
She shared that she felt nervous about filling in for him.
“I’ve got to hand it to you because we were at a bit of a loose end, and someone said, ‘Well, do you think Kelly would do it?'” Cowell remembered. “I said, ‘I promise you, if Kelly’s free, she’ll do it.’ And I was watching in bed that night and thinking, ‘Thank you.'”
He added, “Because as I’m watching it, I’m thinking, ‘You’re actually doing too well here.’ It’s true!”
Clarkson Also Shared Her British Accent With Cowell
In a clip of her promoting the show, Clarkson put on a faux-British accent to pretend to be Cowell.
“That was dreadful!” Cowell told her afterward.
Cowell also shared that he loved being a dad and that his softer side actually came out after he met his son. The TV star shared that his son Eric, who is just seven years old, was his main concern when he hurt himself since he wasn’t sure how much Eric would understand about the accident or why Cowell wouldn’t be moving around much for the next few months.
The two are also writing children’s books together, as Variety announced in 2020. The book series is called “Wishfits” and will be seven books about hybrid animals.
“To be able to write a series of books with my son Eric has been magical,” Cowell told Variety at the time. “Every evening, the two of us would think of the most unlikely animal we would like to have as a pet. We would come up with some very strange new animals.”
Characters include Dat (a dog/cat hybrid,) Peep (a pig/sheep hybrid,) a Snog (snail/dog hybrid,) and Chimpanoo (a chimpanzee/poodle hybrid).
Cowell is currently judging on a new season of “America’s Got Talent,” which he says has been “amazing.”
“What’s amazing is that everyone who’s been on the show this year has a really positive attitude,” Cowell said. “You know, it’s almost like, we’ve gone through a really really bad year, but we’re coming on this show because we want to change our lives… and actually a lot of people, weirdly, developed these acts while they were in lockdown!”
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