Ever since perky Kelly Clarkson won the American Idol crown with heartthrob Justin Guarini by her side, life for these two has been a whirlwind. So when they finally got a chance to take a break in a large banquet room in a swanky Miami hotel, they had some trouble settling down. Effervescent, giddy and very playful, Clarkson and Guarini took the conversation on a tour as intense as their lives have been since the first season of Idol ended. It’s no wonder these two balls of energy went from nobodies to somebodies in just a year.
They talked about their upcoming movie, dancing and Grease. They told us how great their experiences have been so far. They even offered helpful hints for aspiring Idols. Mostly, though, they want you to know one thing.
They’re here to stay.
Idol-Mania
Emerging from the first wave of the Idol frenzy last year, Clarkson and Guarini hit the road and the studio, going on tour with their Idol cohorts and recording their debut albums under the RCA label. (Clarkson‘s album Thankful continues to score on the charts and has already gone platinum since its release April 15. Guarini‘s album is being released this month.) They also made a movie together–From Justin to Kelly, a spring break romp in Miami Beach, full of singing and dancing. After all that, you’d expect the two of them to feel more like Survivors than Idols.
Clarkson admits to some initial reluctance about all the trials and tribulations of life in the spotlight.
“During the competition, I kinda didn’t really know if I wanted it all,” she says. “I’ve always loved singing and performing but it’s a lot of sacrifice. Not only for you but for your family and friends too. They get hounded just as much or more sometimes because we are guarded by people around us.”
“But during my performance of ‘Natural Woman’ [on American Idol] I figured it out,” she continues. “I don’t know if it had anything to do with the song, but I looked out into the audience and there were so many people. The looks on their faces, to have that ability to inspire, it’s so cool. I felt like I could change the world or something. It’s worth it. I could care less about fame but I love being out on that stage.”
Guarini is more to the point. “Fame doesn’t affect me because I don’t take it seriously. It’s this nameless, faceless thing. I mean, sure, you have to respect it but you don’t have to take it so seriously. They are going to make all this creative stuff up in the tabloids and we just laugh at it. It’s hilarious.”
Clarkson joins in, “Yeah, my quote for that is ‘I’m really not that cool.'”
But there is the undeniable chemistry between the two, and the tabloids feed on it.
“I just think we had a lot in common before any of this started,” Guarini smiles, looking at his friend. “We are just really open and outgoing people…. We came into this thing together. There’s no one else in the world who understands exactly what I’m going through in this industry like Kelly.”
She smiles back. “It’s cool because not many people who are beginning artists…can have someone next to them who knows exactly what you are going through. We also got so close because we were the top two and had to go through so much prep work together. It’s very hard to find that trust.”
Define “Idol”
We ask them what they think the definition of an American Idol is, and Guarini responds quickly.
“I don’t think I really have an answer,” he says. “I mean, America is supposed to be this melting pot, a place of great freedom. But American Idol? I don’t know, it’s too many options, you know?”
Clarkson adds, “Where do you get someone that reaches all crowds? And someone who is not afraid to be themselves? That’s what we loved about the show. We came on there and we weren’t cookie-cutter, Barbie-doll images where some record label executive says, ‘Put her in blue because she looks good in blue and give her more cleavage.’ We didn’t have any of that.
“There’s a difference between talent and presence,” she continues. “Madonna, Aretha, these people have presence. They walk in a room and you are blown away. I was privileged to be at a pre-Grammy party where Aretha performed–I was in heaven. See, but I don’t really like the word ‘idol.’ Even being labeled a ‘pop star’ is too much because everything you do, these little kids just eat it up. And you can’t do just one thing. That’s hard.”
Guarini gives an example. “Kelly and I exchange stories of going into the recording studio and nailing a song in like seven hours,” he says. “Some singers, some divas will actually take two weeks to do one song. But we’ll do it in seven hours and people are amazed. They’re like, ‘Don’t you want to take a break?’ Frankly, we don’t know any other way.”
“And we don’t want people to know we are kidding either,” Clarkson adds. Guarini nods his head, “We’ve got something to prove.”
“And we are ready to prove it,” Clarkson states emphatically. “That’s why I waited so long to put my first album out because I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder. People were telling me to hurry up because I was so hot right then. But I didn’t want to be a ‘hot-right-then’ moment. I think I have a little more talent than that. I’m not trying to be cocky or anything but people were telling me I had to strike while the iron was hot. I was like, ‘No, I don’t.'”
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Grease‘d Up
Nonetheless, the iron was pretty hot when Clarkson and Guarini started filming their new movie, From Justin to Kelly, the story of Kelly, a Texas bar singer, and her best friends Kaya and Alexa, who head down to Miami Beach for spring break. Also going are college students Justin, Brandon and Eddie, who are looking for a little fun. Amid the sea of beautiful people, Kelly is tentative at first, but when she meets Justin, a guy with an irresistible smile, everything changes–in an instant. Kelly and Justin are smitten but have to overcome some obstacles to find their way to true love.
If you think the film sounds a bit like those 1950s Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello beach ditties Guarini will quickly correct you. “Noooo,” is the word he uses with us when we mention it. “Basically it’s Grease on the beach,” he continues politely, flashing his trademark smile. “With a lot of dancing.”
Clarkson, talking a mile per minute in her infectious Texas drawl, adds, “It’s edgy. It’s fun. It’s the choreography. We wanted to do all of that. But when they first told me about doing a movie, I was like, ‘Eh,’ then they said it was a musical and I was a little more interested and then they said it was going to be a lot like Grease and I said, ‘OK!'” I mean, who wouldn’t want to do something fun like that?
Still, Clarkson doesn’t consider herself a dancer.
“I love to dance,” she says, “but Justin here is the pro…”
“Yeah, right,” he laughs. “[Kelly] was at first thinking, ‘maybe I shouldn’t be doing this’ and when it came to the dancing part, she said, ‘So, I’ll just be standing here and singing, right?’ But she kicked it.”
Clarkson smiles, “I was so proud of myself that I did it.”
Easier Than “Idol”
Clarkson and Guarini first heard about their film project when they were prepping for the last moments of American Idol last year. The show’s executive producer, Simon Fuller, was already in the planning stages for a movie starring the two of them.
“We got down to top four [during American Idol], and I was standing in the hallway at CBS when [producer] Simon Fuller came by saying that they had a great idea for a musical,” the extremely charismatic Guarini explains. “I was like, “Really?’ Then that was it. That’s all I heard. But once we got down to it and the show was over, they approached us and said, ‘Hey, remember when we said we wanted to do a musical?’ and laid it all on us.”
It was a lot to lay on anybody. The film had a difficult shooting schedule, and it came right on top of an intensive six-month period of recording and touring.
Guarini shrugs off the challenge.
“We did it for a good cause because we believed in what we love,” he says. “That’s why we were willing to endure doing 30 shows in 40 days. Making a film shooting 12, 14 hours a day. The last day was 18 hours, I think. We do it ’cause we love it.”
“I don’t think we complained once during the movie,” Clarkson chirps. “I think coming off of American Idol, we got used to the schedule. Actually, the film was much easier than American Idol.”
Really? Easier? Clarkson exclaims, “Oh lordy! Was it ever!”
From Justin to Kelly opens in theaters June 20.
