Watch The Original Judges of American Idol On The Kelly Clarkson Show

Guess who came on Kelly Clarkson’s new talk show? Her old pals, the three original judges of American Idol — Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson — and boy did they have some catching up to do!

“17 years ago, I would have never thought that the show would have had the impact—look at what it did! The domino effect is crazy,” said Clarkson, who was the first-ever winner of American Idol and went on to become a best-selling singer and a TV personality.

Shedding his trademark cynicism, Cowell replied: “I actually genuinely do not believe we would be sitting here today if you hadn’t entered the show.” He later added that while they got to know many great singers that the first season, what they really needed was someone who would sell lots of records, and that someone turned out to be Clarkson.

Clarkson herself revealed she wasn’t even aware that she was auditioning for a TV show when she first stood before the three judges. She said her apartment had just burned down and she was living in her car for several days before the audition. 

Clarkson’s original audition is definitely worth rewatching; at 20 years old, wearing a shirt made of an old pair of pants she had designed herself, the young Kelly Clarkson immediately took over the audition room and showed us exactly why she would go on to become America’s first American Idol.