Kelly Clarkson may be one of the most renowned singers of our day — with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her own eponymous talk show and multiple wins as a coach on The Voice to boot — but to her two children, River (11) and Remington (10) — she’s a mother first. However, the same can’t be said for her kids’ friends. Clarkson got real about one hilarious side effect of being as famous as she is, and it’s certainly something I’ve never thought about.
The American Idol champ may be “Mom” to her two little ones, but to their friends, she’s still the ridiculously famous singer of hits like “Since U Been Gone” and “Behind These Hazel Eyes.” As such, they apparently refer to her as any normal person would when addressing a celebrity of her caliber. She said on The Kelly Clarkson Show (via US Weekly):
It is funny because kids will use my full name. They won’t say River or Remy’s mom. They’ll be like, ‘Hi, Kelly Clarkson.’ They’ll say my full name every time like it’s a game show.
I’m glad she finds humor in the situation, because it’s actually so adorable to think of tweens just constantly full-naming Kelly Clarkson. I can’t blame them, because I’d do the same thing!
There’s certainly an adjustment period when people stop calling you by your name, and you have to accept the fact that your identity is now being someone’s mom. Living in Texas — Kelly Clarkson’s home state — I also get a lot of “Miss” and “Ma’am,” which is fine because it’s not “Hey,” or “Bruh,” and I don’t expect them all to learn my name.
However, everybody knows Kelly Clarkson’s name, and wouldn't it be so weird to call her “Miss Kelly” or “River’s mom”? She’s won three Grammys for godsakes!
Even Jenna Bush Hager — who was Kelly Clarkson’s guest — admitted she wouldn’t be able to call the singer anything but her full name, saying:
Wait, that’s so true because I call you Kelly Clarkson.
The Today with Jenna & Sheinelle host said she didn’t have the same issue using first names for her colleagues like Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie, but they’re such a family over there at the NBC morning show that that’s not really a surprise.
It’s possible that River and Remington’s friends might be seeing more of Kelly Clarkson soon, as the host is ending The Kelly Clarkson Show at the end of its seventh season. She admitted that she needed to take some things off of her plate in order to be there for her children, especially in the wake of their father Brandon Blackstock’s death last August.
I think it’s a great move for her family, but I doubt it’s going to make a difference in how her kids’ friends refer to her. You can still catch The Kelly Clarkson Show on weekdays on NBC through the fall (check your local listings), and she’ll be back on The Voice for its milestone 30th season, which will premiere on the 2026 TV schedule in September.
