Kelly Clarkson hoping to keep it real for new talk show

LOS ANGELES: Kelly Clarkson, the first “American Idol,” launches her own talk show next week with a mix of music, celebrities and ordinary people that she hopes will be more uplifting than the daily news coming out of the United States.

“The Kelly Clarkson Show,” launching on Comcast Corp’s NBC, on Monday as a daily afternoon show, will add to a resume of the “Because of You” singer that has included actress, Grammy-winning singer, mentor on “The Voice” and children’s book author.

“I just want everybody to be here and having a good time and it to be an hour of television that isn’t depressing, like the news,” Clarkson said.

Clarkson, who worked as a cocktail waitress before shooting to fame in 2002 after winning the first season of the singing show “American Voice,” admits she is not a traditional choice to host a talk show but hopes that is what will make the show unique.

“Although I am of pop culture, I’m not really in it a lot. I lead a very normal life outside of work,” the 37-year-old mother of two said.

“I’d like to see some actors sitting next to some baking champion sitting next to some artists. … So it’s gonna be a mix of celebrity and real people,” she added.

Clarkson plans to open every show by singing a cover version of a song by an artist she admires, “everyone from Aretha Franklin to Cardi B.”

Clarkson has not forgotten her roots. She hopes to reunite the original “American Idol” panel of judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson for her show.

“I love all of them. They’ve always been very supportive of me. Look at all four of us. Nobody knew where we would all be now.”Life is so weird, where it leads you, you never know. And I just think it’d be a really interesting show,” she said.