Kelly Clarkson Talks About Her Old Perfectionist Self

In 2002, Kelly Clarkson was voted the very first winner of American Idol. Almost ten years have pased since, during which time, she has banked on her Idol victory and transformed herself into a major pop star, who is widely acclaimed for his commanding vocals and powerful, though-provoking songs.

In recent years, some of the new Idol-winners have found it hard to emulate the level of success that Clarkson managed to achieve. So what was the key that made her stand out from the rest of the bunch? In a recent interview with MTV, the ‘Never Again’ singer explained, "I think I can be a very serious person, so I think me taking everything so to heart ... especially when I first started out, anytime I slipped on a note or forgot a word or I'd do something wrong, that wasn't huge, [but] it was just like, it wasn't perfect. I was very much a perfectionist. And I fight that still, but I'm a lot easier now."

But being a perfectionist is not always or entirely right in the music business and she highlighted that point by saying: "I wish I could tell myself 'Enjoy it' because an emotional performance is way better than a perfect performance."

The 29-year old openly admits that she is a much bolder and mature person than she was in her early years in the music industry and she has packed a lot of that brand-new side of her personality in her new album ‘Stronger,’ which was released yesterday (October 24).

"There were a few different titles that were going around, and I think the reason why we came up with Stronger was just because every song was about empowerment and almost, like, overcoming stuff. So, even if it was a bad situation and a sad song, it was about overcoming that. So by the end of the song, it's kind of more inspiration than sad. So I think that's why [we named it that], and I think after 10 years of doing it, you feel a little stronger personally and musically. People know you better. It's just easier, I think," she further added.

Here is Kelly Clarkson's official video for Stronger's first song 'Mr. Know It All':