Kelly Clarkson, the inaugural winner of American Idol in 2002, recently revealed that she had no idea the show was a television program when she auditioned. At 19 years old, Clarkson and other contestants were simply trying to make ends meet, unaware of the show's massive national broadcast. Despite winning and launching a successful career, Clarkson admitted that her rise to fame was not easy, recalling encounters with industry figures who were "really mean" to her in the early days of her post-Idol career.