Vault: Kelly Clarkson Joins The Show

Summary

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Podcast Summary: “Vault: Kelly Clarkson Joins The Show”

The Bert Show (Pionaire Podcasting), December 11, 2025

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Main Theme

This episode features a lively and candid conversation with Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken, reflecting on their post-American Idol stardom, the realities of fame, and keeping a sense of humor amidst a whirlwind schedule. The Bert Show cast engages them in a playful, self-aware format that offers both genuine insight and lighthearted moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Challenge of Celebrity Interviews

• Burt, the host, admits to feeling at a loss for new questions:
  • “I really don’t know what to ask you guys, so why don’t you all interview yourself a little bit? And they bought it, and they did.” (01:56)
• The result is Kelly and Clay playfully interviewing each other, poking fun at typical media questions.

2. Reflections on Stardom and “Stock Answers”

• Familiarity with media tropes:
  • Kelly mimics being asked, “How did it feel to win American Idol?” and Clay jokes about having honed his answers over repeated interviews.
  • Clay: "Well, I've answered it so many times, I've got it down." (04:05)

3. The Exhaustion and Adaptation of Fame

• The whirlwind of sudden fame:
  • Burt observes, “This whole thing, really. It’s got to be at one point, it’s got to be exhausting ... And I know you gotta put the face on...” (04:07)
  • Kelly responds candidly: “It’s exhausting.” (04:16)
  • Clay elaborates: “It’s like going to a new job that’s, like, so chaotic. And everybody’s watching, not just your boss.” (04:22)
• Learning to cope:
  • Kelly: “The whirlwind doesn’t slow down. You just figure out how to deal with it more.” (04:34)
  • Clay: “Because it’s still just as busy. We’re just used to it.” (04:38)

4. The Un-Glamorous Reality

• Debunking myths about celebrity lifestyles:
  • Kelly: “I always thought it was gonna be glamorous. And I sit on my couch at home and eat in my pajamas and eat all the time and watch TV.” (05:10)
  • Clay: “Yeah. I go camping. So no one glamorous with me.” (05:17)

5. The Pressure of Public Scrutiny

• Self-consciousness in public:
  • Kelly: “Sometimes it makes me go, goodness gracious. A little anonymity would be nice. I would like to go out to the grocery store and not have anybody staring all the time and taking note of what type of milk I buy… Because I guarantee you there are fans out there that know what percent of milk I buy.” (05:52)

6. Staying Grounded

• Introverted tendencies help keep them grounded:
  • Clay: “We’re both kind of introvertish ... We don’t go out. We don’t do a lot of things.” (04:55)
• Using a disguise:
  • Clay: “I get away with it. I put a hat on, and I put my glasses on, and nobody recognizes [me]. I’m quite the chameleon.” (06:33)

7. Kelly Clarkson’s Humor: The Recording Bloopers

• A peek behind the scenes:
  • Burt shares how Kelly struggled to record show liners, repeatedly messing up and laughing:
    • Clay, teasing: “Wow, you have a lot of bloopers. It’s okay.” (08:39)
  • The segment highlights Kelly’s good nature and willingness to laugh at herself.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Burt on interview fatigue:
  "With Kelly I think it's been three times and with Clay it was four times or whatever, you know, I know that adds up to seven." (01:47)

• Kelly mimicking a standard interview question:
  “How did it feel to win American Idol?” (03:14)
  (then to Clay) “Oh wait, you didn’t win.” (03:18)

• On adapting to fame:

  • Clay: “...it’s just weird. I grew up in a small town, so everybody knew my name in the beginning. So now, you know, people know my name on a larger scale.” (03:55)

• On exhausting fame:

  • Kelly: “It’s exhausting.” (04:16)
  • Clay: “It’s like going to a new job that’s, like, so chaotic. And everybody's watching. Not just your boss.” (04:22)
  • Kelly: “The whirlwind doesn’t slow down. You just figure out how to deal with it more.” (04:34)

• A candid moment about privacy:

  • Kelly: “A little anonymity would be nice. ... I would like to go out to the grocery store and not have anybody staring all the time and taking note of what type of milk I buy...” (05:52)

• A self-aware, humorous aside:

  • Clay jokes about tabloids: “Anytime anybody sees me in, like, a girl section, they’re like, Kelly’s pregnant. ... That’s Justin’s baby. ... I’m like, yeah, no, not at all. But that’s okay.” (06:12–06:30)

• Kelly’s recurring blooper:
  “Hey, what’s up? This is Kelly Clarkson, and I know how to win ... I know how—what am I doing? What am I winning?” (08:08–08:15)

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Noteworthy Segments & Timestamps

• Burt admits to not knowing what to ask – 01:56
• DIY interviewing and poking fun at “stock” questions – 02:58–03:40
• Discussion on fame’s impact and adapting to the whirlwind – 04:07–04:41
• Life before and after fame; the lack of glamour – 05:10–05:17
• Public scrutiny and longing for anonymity – 05:52–06:12
• Kelly’s recording bloopers & humor – 08:01–08:49

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Overall Tone

The episode’s energy is relentlessly upbeat, self-effacing, and genuine, matching The Bert Show’s signature blend of humor and authenticity. Kelly Clarkson’s charm and relatability shine, especially as she laughs at her struggles. Clay Aiken’s witty asides help keep the energy light. Burt and the team maintain a personable, friendly, and approachable tone throughout.

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Transcript

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[Radio Host (Burt)]

The Bird Show Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken were in concert last night at the Gwinnetta arena and I had a chance to go up there and hang out with those guys for a couple of minutes yesterday afternoon. And the thing about Kelly and Clay is we have had them both on a total of about eight times, right? With Kelly I think it's been three times and with Clay it was four times or whatever, you know, I know that adds up to seven.

[Radio Producer/Assistant]

I was a little curious on your.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Math right there honey, so I really kind of went not not as enthused about going up there yesterday As I have been in the past, only because I didn't know what to say to them at that point. So I came totally clean with them right off the bat. And I'm like, I really don't know what to ask you guys, so why don't you all interview yourself a little bit? And they bought it, and they did. And they turned out to be really, really cool. Here's Kelly Clarkson and Clay Aiken yesterday before the show.

Between the two of you guys, I've talked to you seven times. Seriously?

[Kelly Clarkson]

Have you counted?

[Radio Host (Burt)]

It has been. I think it's four for you and three for you.

[Clay Aiken]

Awesome. Awesome.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

So I'm like, I don't know even know what to ask them anymore. I said, you know what?

[Commercial Narrator]

We're done.

[Kelly Clarkson]

This is a short one. Okay.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

You know what I said was I would really like 60 seconds of you guys just to interview yourself. Like you interview Kelly. Kelly interview.

[Clay Aiken]

Hey, how did it feel to. Oh, wait, hold on. How did it.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Oh, you're not good at this.

[Clay Aiken]

That I always get asked, but never mind.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Yeah, Ask the stereotypical questions.

[Kelly Clarkson]

She was gonna ask me. How did it feel to win American Idol? And then she was like, oh, wait a second.

[Clay Aiken]

I forget.

[Kelly Clarkson]

You didn't win.

[Clay Aiken]

No, but I forget. How did it feel to do American Idol? How was the show?

[Kelly Clarkson]

It was really. I mean, it was. It was a blessing because it was such a.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

See, these are our stock answers.

[Kelly Clarkson]

It was really. I mean, it was a blessing to be able to take part in something so exciting and cool.

[Clay Aiken]

How was the make, Clay? Don't you get that one a lot, too?

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Okay.

[Kelly Clarkson]

You know, it really wasn't a makeover. I took my glasses off and got a new haircut that colored the.

[Clay Aiken]

I know. It's called money, right? That's what I. That's what I told you.

[Kelly Clarkson]

But I got a question for you.

[Clay Aiken]

Okay.

[Kelly Clarkson]

Like, what's it like to go from small town girl to stardom in like, a year's time? Like, one day you're not. You're doing nothing, and the next day you're on every single magazine cover. What's that like?

[Commercial Narrator]

I don't.

[Clay Aiken]

You know what? It's just weird. It's like, you know, I grew up in a small town, so everybody knew.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

My name in the beginning.

[Clay Aiken]

So now, you know, people know my name on a larger scale. That's my answer.

[Kelly Clarkson]

That's good, though. That's better than the one I.

[Clay Aiken]

Well, I've answered it so many times, I've got it down.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

This whole thing, really. It's got to be at one point, it's got to be exhausting. And I know you guys can't answer that honestly, and I know you gotta. I know you gotta put the face on and you gotta say, I'll answer it. Okay.

[Kelly Clarkson]

It's exhausting.

[Clay Aiken]

Oh, no, the first. Yeah, I remember the look. The first, like, six months of it. It's just.

[Commercial Narrator]

It's a.

[Clay Aiken]

It's like getting. Going to a new job that's, like, so chaotic. And everybody's watching. Not just your boss.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Right.

[Kelly Clarkson]

And then everyone. I say it never. I've always said that it never really slows down either. It's just that you learn how to live in the whirlwind.

[Clay Aiken]

You cope with it, and you adjust.

[Kelly Clarkson]

And the whirlwind doesn't slow down. You just figure out how to deal with it more.

[Clay Aiken]

Yep. Because it's still just as busy. We're just used to it.

[Kelly Clarkson]

It's busier, but it's.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

There have got to be days. And I know. I mean that, you know, you guys were doing what you were doing a couple years ago. Now you are big stars. But there has got to be a time where you're like, I'm. This is really bothering me now. Like, I guess my real question is, is it what you thought it was gonna be?

[Clay Aiken]

Oh, yeah. I had a new people before I did American Idol in the business and stuff, so I knew what it was gonna be like. But I'm very. Actually, we're both kind of introvertish. Like, whenever we're not working, we're always. We always stay in. So we don't really deal with a lot that most celebrities do. We don't go out. We don't do a lot of things.

[Kelly Clarkson]

I always thought it was gonna be glamorous. And I sit on my couch at home and eat in my pajamas and eat all the time and watch tv.

[Clay Aiken]

Yeah. I go camping. So no one glamorous with me.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

No one. Is it weird when you guys are out in the public? Is there always, like, in the back of your mind, like, I really have to watch what I'm doing here because I know someone inevitably is gonna have a camera.

[Clay Aiken]

Well, I'm not a bad person, so.

[Kelly Clarkson]

It'S not like I'm gonna be flipping.

[Clay Aiken]

People off or anything.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Anyway, so You've told us it every now and then. You're a bad person, though. You said you've got a bad temper.

[Kelly Clarkson]

I did.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Every now and then.

[Kelly Clarkson]

You begged me to find something that I did wrong, and that's what I can come up with that. I do have a bad temper sometimes, and some people in the room will vouch for that.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

So you're saying, like, it doesn't bother you when you go out and, like, you're not conscious, you know, like, all the time with people looking at you and stuff like that?

[Kelly Clarkson]

I'm conscious of it only because, I mean, I'll be completely honest with you. Sometimes it makes me go, goodness gracious. A little anonymity would be nice. I would like to go out to the grocery store and not have anybody staring all the time and taking note of what type of milk I buy, you know, Because I guarantee you there are fans out there that know what percent of milk I buy.

[Clay Aiken]

Oh, yeah.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Oh, yeah.

[Clay Aiken]

And anytime anybody sees me in, like, a girl section, they're like, kelly's pregnant. And I'm, like, buying, like, girl stuff. I'm just like, buy. Oh, it's already been in there.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Clay Aiken]

I'm, like, buying, you know, girl stuff that you need at certain times.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Right.

[Kelly Clarkson]

And.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Clay Aiken]

And then they're like, she's pregnant. That's Justin's baby.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

And I'm like.

[Clay Aiken]

I'm like, yeah, no, not at all. But that's okay.

[Commercial Narrator]

Okay.

[Clay Aiken]

But I'm pretty lucky. I'm lucky. Like, I get away with it. I put a hat on, and I put my glasses on, and nobody recognizes.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Really?

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Clay Aiken]

I'm quite the chameleon.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

So you're a little different. I mean. I mean.

[Radio Producer/Assistant]

Oh.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Like, people will recognize. So that kind of gives you a little taste of how cool they were yesterday. I mean, they're still very. They're unaffected by this whole thing. They really are.

[Radio Producer/Assistant]

Which would almost be near to impossible to do. I mean, I think if I had people coming in to do my hair and makeup and pick out my outfits and have a stylist and go on the road and have all these people doing anything. I mean, anything you want. I mean, if they went in and they said, I want to shop at Nordstrom's today, someone on their crew, it's their job to make it happen.

[Clay Aiken]

Oh, absolutely.

[Radio Producer/Assistant]

It would be so hard, I think, to stay down to earth with having all of that at your fingertips.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

And when you think about it just a couple years ago, I mean, they were nobody. Nobody knew, and they've just skyrocketed to this kind of stardom. I'm gonna give you an example of how great a sense of humor Kelly Clarkson still has. What we do when we go into these interviews is we have them cut things called liners, where, like, Clay will Walk into the studio and we've got a whole bunch of things typed up for him. And he says, hi, this is Clay Akin, and I listen to the Burt show on all the hits. Q100. Well, we had, like 10 of them all ready for Kelly Clarkson. And Clay got through his pretty well. And then Kelly started to do hers, and she could not get through it. She was feeling the pressure because she started messing up, and then it just got more intense and more intense and more intense for her. This poor little thing could not finish.

[Clay Aiken]

Hey, what's going on? It's Kelly Clarkson, and I know how to say it. And win. All the kids.

Okay. Hey, what's up? This is Kelly Clarkson, and I know how to win. I know how. What am I doing? What am I winning?

Oh, okay. I get it. I was like, what? I was like, okay. Hey, what's up? It's Kelly Clarkson. I know how to say it. And win all the hits on Q100. Oh, my God. It's just like a robot. All the hits Q100. Okay. Edit. Hey, it's Kelly Clarkson on the Burt show on all the kid watching thigh. Hey, it's Kelly Clarkson on the.

Hey, what? Hey, what's up? It's Kelly Clarkson on the Burt show on all the hits Q100. Wow, you have a lot of bloopers. It's okay.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

She was really, really cool about it. Extremely cool about it. The Burt Show.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Radio Host (Burt)]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

I needed relief.

[Clay Aiken]

I got Cosentyx.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

It helped me move better.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

Ask your dermatologist about Cosentix.

[Clay Aiken]

Guys, thanks for helping me carry my Christmas tree.

[Kelly Clarkson]

Zoe, this thing weighs a ton.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Brusky.

[Kelly Clarkson]

Live with your legs, man.

[Commercial Narrator]

Santa.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

Santa, did you get my letter?

[Kelly Clarkson]

Talking to you britches.

[Clay Aiken]

I'm not that of course he did. Right Santa?

[Radio Host (Burt)]

You know my elf Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.

[Kelly Clarkson]

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[Clay Aiken]

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[Radio Host (Burt)]

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[Clay Aiken]

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[Commercial Narrator]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

My side of the tree is slipping.

[Radio Host (Burt)]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

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[Radio Host (Burt)]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

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[Radio Host (Burt)]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

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[Radio Host (Burt)]

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[Kelly Clarkson]

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[Commercial Narrator]

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