The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson felt maternal towards Season 15 champ Chevel Shepherd, 16. In fact, the singer’s teammates referred to her as “momager.”
“I always texted [Chevel], like, ‘Make sure you have fun!’” Clarkson, 36, told Us Weekly and other reporters after the live finale for the NBC singing competition in Los Angeles on Tuesday, December 18. The three-time Grammy winner said she also would remind Shepherd that “some days you’re going to be awesome, some days you’re going to suck,” but no matter what, “you try your best.”
Though Clarkson is happy to dish advice to Shepherd and other new talents, the Texas native hopes her daughter River, 4, and son Remington, 2, steer clear of the entertainment industry. Clarkson explained it has a little bit to do with how her mother, Jeanne Taylor, behaved when she was early in her career.
“I seriously hope they are tone deaf,” Clarkson quipped about her kids. While the American Idol season 1 winner credited Taylor with instilling in her a strong work ethic, it was a complicated dynamic. “I love my mom for it, but I think I would be like her. I’d be like, ‘I’ve heard better, but it was solid.’ And don’t want to do that,” Clarkson mused. “I hope they’re like teachers or doctors or something. It’s a hard industry.”
After Brynn Cartelli, 15, won season 14, the multi-platinum artist had a heart-to-heart with her parents. And she did the same thing with Shepherd’s mom and dad. “I’m like, ‘Hold onto them! Hug them, tell them really nice things,’” Clarkson said on Tuesday. “Because people are mean. That’s horrible, but that’s the reality.”
Clarkson shares her children with her husband of five years, Brandon Blackstock.
With reporting by Kayley Stumpe
