Simon Cowell Tells Kelly Clarkson His 'One Wish' Is to Work with Original American Idol Judges Again
It’s an American Idol reunion for the books!
During an appearance on Wednesday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, original Idol judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson reminisced about their time spent on the competition show — and if they’d ever sit together on the judge’s panel again.
“It does make me think,” Cowell, 59, said. “If I had one wish it’d be to make another show with us again. That would be my number one wish.”
“Let’s go, man,” Jackson said.
“Apart from the fact that we had so much fun, and look, to credit you Kelly, we wouldn’t be here without you,” Cowell said. “The fact that you’re one of the most successful singers in the world. I have to say something about you, Kelly. Unlike the majority, you are the same person off-camera as you are on camera. You’ve always respected people and you’ve been very loyal and you’re a great friend. I’m absolutely thrilled for you, genuinely. You’ve worked hard.”
He added, “And for you, these guys, everyone remembers al the craziness, what worked about that series was is that Randy, like myself, is an A&R guy, but also a record producer. Paula actually was a brilliant spotter of talent. I was an A&R (artists and repertoire) guy, which is one of the reasons why I think we had this additional chemistry. Our legacy, genuinely, are the artists who we discovered over the seven-year period. That’s what I’m most proud of. The show’s ratings were great, that’s one thing, but it’s who has come through the process and has made it all worthwhile. And that’s why genuinely, if I could chose who to work with all over again, I would work with these guys again.”
In August, Clarkson — who was crowned winner on season one of Idol in 2002 — opened up to PEOPLE about her journey on the show 17 years ago.
“Everyone looks at talent shows on TV now like it’s normal. It was not normal my first season and a lot of people didn’t like it,” she says. “It was not fun in the beginning.”
But despite the difficulties, she couldn’t be more grateful for the experience.
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“It’s like that Rascal Flatts song. Like, ‘God Bless the Broken Road’,” she says. “Because it’s really cool, where it’s brought me.”
On Wednesday, Clarkson expressed her gratitude for the trio.
“I would’ve never thought that show would’ve had the impact that it did,” she told the former Idol judges. “The domino effect was crazy.”
“I actually genuinely do not believe we would not be sitting here today if you hadn’t ended the show that year,” Cowell said. “The whole premise of the show was, we had to find a star that was going to sell records. We found some great people that whole year but when you delivered that moment on that first live show and when you sang that winning song at the end…”
“It was a game-changer,” Abdul added.
“That was the moment we knew,” Jackson said.
The Kelly Clarkson Show airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings).
