In its twenty-one seasons on television, American Idol has produced a wide range of musical talent, including both first-place winners and runners-up. After being told by Simon Cowell that she would never be a successful singer, Jennifer Hudson blew minds and eardrums with her Oscar-winning performance in Dreamgirls. Other Idol favorites, like Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, and Jordin Sparks, went on to release successful studio albums and even perform on Broadway.
Only two have reached the kind of worldwide fame that all aspiring artists dream of: Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Clarkson was the very first Idol winner in 2002, and her song “A Moment Like This” became the bestselling single of 2002. Her first album, Thankful, was packed with hits like “The Trouble With Love Is,” “Miss Independent,” and “Beautiful Disaster,” and her second album, Breakaway, won her two Grammys and sold over 12 million copies. Songs like “Since U Been Gone” and “Behind These Hazel Eyes” made Clarkson even more of a pop sensation, paving the way for a long and fruitful musical career.
Over the years, Clarkson has sold over 25 million albums and won just about every kind of music award possible, from Grammys and American Music Awards to Daytime Emmy Awards for her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. She’s been a judge on the reality singing competition The Voice since 2018 and is even the author of two children’s books, River Rose and the Magical Lullaby and River Rose and the Magical Christmas.
What Is Kelly Clarkson’s net worth?
If you’re expecting to hear that Clarkson is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, you might be surprised to learn that she is worth an estimated $45 million. She has made over $100 million in her career to date and earns more than half a million dollars per episode of The Voice. Despite losing a chunk of her annual income due to her separation from her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, Clarkson has lots of money and assets.
According to court documents, during the divorce proceedings between Clarkson and Blackstock, it was revealed that Clarkson’s salary is at least $1.9 million per month, which includes income from both The Voice and The Kelly Clarkson Show. TMZ reports that Blackstock earns only a fraction of that, “about $10,000 per month.”
How does Kelly Clarkson’s divorce affect her net worth?
In 2020, she filed for divorce from her husband, Brandon Blackstock, who later requested monthly child and spousal support from her. Although he demanded an outrageous $430,000 in child support alone, a judge later ordered her to pay $195K per month.
Upon the couple’s divorce being finalized in March 2022, Us Weekly reported that Clarkson was ordered to pay Blackstock far less than he’d requested: $115,000 monthly in spousal support until January 2024, plus $45,600 in monthly child support. Clarkson will also pay Blackstock a one-time payment of $1.3 million. In August 2021, TMZ reported Clarkson is also responsible for their children’s tuition.
While these numbers might give the average person a heart attack, Clarkson shouldn’t have too much trouble managing it, especially if she continues to work on television.
What does Kelly Clarkson make on The Voice?
Clarkson, who began working full-time as a coach on The Voice in 2018, currently earns $14 million per season for her work on the show, according to Variety. Clarkson is not only a fan favorite on the hugely popular NBC reality show, but she has also proven to be a great coach, winning seasons 14, 15, and 17. She departed the show for its most recent, 24th season.
Kelly Clarkson earns how much money from her talk show?
The Kelly Clarkson Show debuted in 2019 to solid success, averaging over 2 million viewers per episode in the months following the show’s premiere. While Clarkson’s salary for the gig has not yet been released publicly, it’s safe to assume that it generates about $1 million a month – considering, as mentioned above, that her average monthly salary of $1.9 million includes both her salary for The Kelly Clarkson Show and her salary for The Voice.
In addition, she’s the talk show host and an executive producer for the same show, so she may earn even more money from her guest chats than she would otherwise.
Although data about Clarkson’s talk show salary is difficult to obtain, a source told Us Weekly that the singer is seeking a bigger payday in the wake of her divorce. “Kelly is renegotiating her talk show contract and wants a substantial increase,” the insider claimed.
Is she the richest winner of American Idol?
Unfortunately, Clarkson is not even close to being the wealthiest winner of the reality singing competition. Carrie Underwood, whose country music career exploded after she won season four of American Idol, is worth $140 million. Despite this enormous gap in their earnings, Clarkson is still the second-wealthiest winner of the show. Season three runner-up Jennifer Hudson is right behind her at $30 million.
Justin Guarini, who came in second place when Clarkson won and who co-starred with her in the universally panned From Justin to Kelly, is worth $700 thousand. Hey, it’s better than nothing.