In her first Instagram post since the death of Brandon Blackstock, her ex-husband and father of her children, Kelly Clarkson reflected on the event that started her on the path to stardom.
September 4, 2002 marked the finale of the very first season of American idol, during which Kelly was crowned as the show's champion. On Thursday night, she posted a photo of herself standing on the Idol stage amid a blizzard of confetti.
"To everyone that took time 23 years ago to call in and vote for me, thank you," she wrote. "Winning American Idol changed my life and I will be forever grateful for all of you that have supported me for so many years. It is a gift to find your purpose and passion, and to be able to make a living doing it is the cherry on top. Thank you, always."
Since her American Idol victory, Kelly has become a Grammy-winning global pop superstar, an Emmy-winning talk show host and host of multiple other TV events, an occasional Las Vegas headliner, an on-and-off coach on another reality singing competition and the mother of daughter River and son Remy.
In the comments, fans reminisced about voting for her, and one wrote, "The best decision America ever made!!"
Kelly's talk show begins taping new episodes next week; it'll return for its season 7 premiere Monday, Sept. 29.
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