Kelly Clarkson Says She’ll Be Mean On ‘The Voice,’ Slams ‘American Idol’

Kelly Clarkson is revealing what kind of coach she’ll be when she joins The Voice as a coach for Season 14 next year, and she appears to be throwing a little shade at American Idol in the process.

The star, who it’s been confirmed will be joining the NBC show in 2018 alongside Blake Shelton and Adam Levine, revealed what kind of coach she’s going to be when she sits in her red spinning chair for the first time – and it sounds like she’s ready to show off her mean side.

Kelly recently explained to Variety that viewers expecting her to go easy on the contestants will probably end up being disappointed when she makes her debut next year.

Instead, Clarkson teased that she’s actually going to be channelling her inner Simon Cowell on the show, admitting that she doesn’t think the TV judge, who was branded by many as being “too mean” during the early days of American Idol, was harsh at all.

“I hope I’m a little bit like Simon Cowell,” Kelly said when asked what kind of coaching style she’ll adopt when she sits alongside Blake, Adam, and a fourth coach who’s yet to be confirmed. “For the most part, I love his honesty. This is not a nice industry. People think I am going to be super nice all the time. I am nice. But I also want to keep it real.”

Clarkson then appeared to throw a slight diss in American Idol’s direction in the new interview, despite being the first ever winner of the talent search back in 2002.

When revealing why she decided to join The Voice over her former show after producers of the reboot also offered her a job as a judge, she explained that she prefers the NBC series because the coaches actually get to be involved with the contestants rather than just giving their opinions on the performances once a week.

“On Idol, you can’t really have a relationship, and I, as you can tell, love talking and having relationships,” the “Love So Soft” singer explained, seemingly throw a little shade at her former show as The Voice and American Idol have been rival shows for years.

Kelly then told the outlet that her husband, music manager Brandon Blackstock, also had a big influence on her joining The Voice in 2018 because Blake is his client.

“At the end of the day, I don’t like being separate from my husband. Blake is his artist. We’re all there,” Clarkson said of turning her back on Idol, which will be premiering on ABC next year after being canceled by Fox in 2015. “For American Idol, you have to travel.”

“It excites me to do something different,” she then continued of her somewhat controversial decision to choose The Voice over American Idol despite her history with the series. “I’m not going to lie: I’m stoked about pushing the red button.”

Kelly previously confirmed that sitting alongside Shelton was a big draw for her to join the NBC show rather than the talent search she won 15 years ago because her family is already used to The Voice’s schedule due to her husband’s affiliation with Blake and their close friendship with the country star.

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“Would it have been awesome to come back to the show that started me and help give someone that start? Yes!” Kelly told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t do the same thing on The Voice.”

Clarkson then explained that her “goal” when she makes her coaching debut in 2018 is to find a star who has a successful career outside of the show, something the NBC series has largely failed to deliver in its six years on air.

“I want to have someone on my team, whether they win or not, to have a successful career after being on the show,” Kelly said.

The Voice Season 14 is set to debut on NBC in February 2018. The series currently airs on Monday and Tuesday nights with Blake, Adam, Miley Cyrus, and Jennifer Hudson as coaches.

[Featured Image by David Becker/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]