'American Idol' judges reunite for Kelly Clarkson's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The original hosts of American Idol reunited on Monday as Kelly Clarkson, the show's first winner, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson gathered to celebrate Clarkson, who won the televised singing competition in 2002, launching a career that includes three Grammy Award wins and her own talk show.

During her speech, Clarkson, 40, thanked the judges for being honest with her "from the beginning" of her career on the show.

"I think [it's] important to have not just 'yes' people around you, but people that actually love you and care about you and give their honest advice. I've always welcomed that and I think that's why I'm here today," Clarkson said. "Not just because of myself but because of having constantly teams of people that love you and support you and really want to make your dreams come true while making their dreams come true."

During the ceremony, Cowell said that Clarkson "validated" American Idol in its first season.

"If we didn't find a star, there's no point in doing these shows," he said. "And I could never predict what was going to happen then and I remember sitting there talking to the record label at the time, I said, 'I don't think you realize what you signed here, this girl has steel in her eyes.'"

After her win on American Idol, Clarkson went on to record hit singles including "A Moment Like This," Since U Been Gone," "My Life Would Suck Without You" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)."

She has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards, winning three times.

Clarkson currently hosts The Kelly Clarkson show on NBC and has won Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

She has also returned to the world of singing competitions as a judge and mentor on ABC's Duets and NBC's The Voice.