Kelly Clarkson Throws Shade on Carrie Underwood by Claiming She Introduced Country Music Genre on 'American Idol'

Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood have been allegedly pitted against each other ever since they won the coveted reality singing show, American Idol. Most recently, Clarkson revealed that she was the first contestant on American Idol to ask for a "country week." OK Magazine suggests that this may have been a subtle shade thrown at Underwood, who is known for her country music.

Clarkson appeared on a recent episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast to promote her latest album Chemistry. The Breakaway songstress explained that she had requested the executive producer of American Idol, Simon Fuller to include the country music genre in the show. "When I won Idol, I kept begging for a country week!" she said. But Fuller was from England, and he reportedly did not like the particular genre. "But they were a British-owned company and did not understand country music," she noted before calling out the Remind Me singer: "You're welcome Carrie Underwood!" 

However, according to Insider, Clarkson addressed the "alleged beef" between her and Underwood on Watch What Happens Live. The Catch My Breath singer refuted claims that there was animosity between them. She clarified, "People always pit us together and we don't even know each other enough to be pitted against each other. Like, literally, we've run into each other a handful of times. There's no beef between us. There's nothing between us because we don't know each other, so like, we literally run into each other a few times."

Clarkson subtly questioned the entertainment industry's tendency to pit female stars against each other. "Everybody always pits us against each other and I don't know why they do that. They don't do that with dudes. They only do it with females," Clarkson said.

OK Magazine reported last year that the two talented music divas are "very competitive" about their careers. Underwood was not happy about the fact that Clarkson had dropped her Kellyoke EP the same week as her Denim and Rhinestones album. Their rift dated back to 2016 when an alleged source revealed that the Before He Cheats singer "threw a fit" after Clarkson was asked to perform a solo on American Idol over her. At the time, the source told Radar Online, "Carrie caused serious drama with the final production of the show because she flipped out that she was stuck doing a duet with Keith Urban when she has a tour and so many things to promote right now."

A year later, another source alleged that Underwood was "jealous and upset" that Clarkson was picked to be a coach on The Voice. "Carrie was jealous Kelly got a coaching gig on The Voice that she thought should've been hers. And Kelly's always been jealous that Carrie's the bestselling idol to come out of Idol," the source said. However, the two music artists shut down haters by posing together on the red carpet of the Radio Disney Music Awards in 2018. Underwood and Clarkson both rose to fame after competing and winning season one and season four of American Idol respectively.