Kelly Clarkson’s Net Worth Has Come A Long Way Since Her Surprising Pre-Fame Job

Highlights

• Kelly Clarkson worked multiple jobs before becoming famous, showing her determination to pursue her dreams.
• Clarkson’s net worth is now $50 million, earned through her successful singing career and numerous awards.
• The most lucrative source of income for Clarkson is her role as host and executive producer of “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” earning her nearly $20 million per year.

Kelly Clarkson is one of the most successful American Idol contestants. Other Idol contestants have tried to have the same level of fame but feel scammed for not attaining it like Clarkson has. With a massive net worth, over 100 number-one hits across all the Billboard charts, over 25 million albums and 45 million singles sold, and a hit television show to boot, Clarkson took the entertainment industry by storm and has not looked back since.

However, Clarkson did not always have a steady job and income she could count on before she auditioned for Idol. Instead, to make ends meet, Clarkson took whatever jobs she could after she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a music career. None of which made her rich but allowed her to pay her rent and the gas for her car. But as long as Clarkson was moving in the direction of achieving her dreams, every job she took was worth it.

Eventually, that hard work did pay off and Clarkson landed a spot on American Idol, which would change the trajectory of her life. Clarkson’s net worth has come a long way since working at a pizza place pre-fame as well. But even with the fortune that Clarkson has earned, it is clear that it is in Clarkson’s nature to have many pokers in the fire to ensure that she remains monetarily comfortable with the life she has built for herself.

Kelly Clarkson Had Various Jobs Before She Was Famous

At one point, Kelly Clarkson was holding down four jobs to make ends meet

Clarkson decided before she graduated from high school that she was not going to go to college. She had seen those who were ahead of her in school go the college route and still not achieve their dreams.

For Clarkson, college would be the backup plan. Moving to Los Angeles was how Clarkson saw herself rising to fame and becoming a singer. But to afford to live in Southern California, Clarkson had to hold down several jobs, some of which proved to be better than others.

“I had a lot of older friends that I watched go to college and just waste their time,” Clarkson explained. “… I knew that I’d rather go out and almost like an apprentice-style, just start doing background vocals for people and then just kind of work my way up. So I chose to move to L.A. randomly.”

Despite the fact that Clarkson was given a scholarship to go to college, she did not feel it was the path that was meant for her. However, it was the backup plan if moving to Los Angeles did not work.

“You can always go back to school. And even if I didn’t get a scholarship, I already had like four jobs,” Clarkson said. “I hustled to make money because I had to for my car, gas.”

Clarkson went on to say, “So, I don’t know, I’ve just always known it’ll work out as long as you’re working your a** off.”

Working hard is exactly what Clarkson did because she had “nothing to her name.”

“I worked at Six Flags — I did the singing and dancing, like all those shows,” Clarkson stated. “Any option that was available to make money singing, I was like, ‘OK.’”

Clarkson continued, saying, “I worked at a comedy club, I was a cocktail waitress at a comedy club. I’ve worked at a Papa John’s. I’ve worked at a Subway.” All of this was done to make enough money for her demo, which Clarkson cut so that she could shop it around to labels.

But before Clarkson could make a name for herself in Los Angeles, her apartment burned down; Clarkson had to live in her car. It was not until she was able to save up enough money that Clarkson could move back home to Texas.

But it was there that Clarkson auditioned for American Idol, would go on to win the show, and began to grow her now massive net worth.

Kelly Clarkson’s Current Net Worth

Kelly Clarkson is worth $50 million

Clarkson no longer has to rely on small jobs to make ends meet. This is because Clarkson has a net worth of $50 million. Clarkson lost money when she went through a messy divorce from Brandon Blackstock. Going through a divorce negatively impacted Clarkson’s net worth.

But it is that same tenacity that Clarkson had when she was a starving artist that has allowed Clarkson to come back from being personally knocked down to build her empire to be even more successful than it was when she was married.

To build her net worth, Clarkson relied on her singing career. An incredibly successful career. From selling over 25 million albums and 45 million singles, winning a dozen Billboard Awards and three Grammy Awards, Clarkson became a powerhouse in the music industry.

Clarkson proved that she is still a force to be reckoned with, after she released her latest album, Chemistry, in 2023. The tenth album release for Clarkson debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and sold over 43,000 copies in the first week.

However, it is not just the music industry where Clarkson has built her net worth. In fact, the biggest source of income is not her music. But something else entirely instead.

How Kelly Clarkson Makes Money Today

Kelly Clarkson has many successful income revenue streams but the most successful has been ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’

Given that music is Clarkson’s first love in her career, it makes sense that it was from music that other opportunities came her way. These opportunities proved to be very lucrative and would help Clarkson to build an entertainment empire.

After Clarkson had solidified herself as a successful singer, she was in demand to appear on the very same type of shows that launched her career.

Clarkson joined The Voice in 2017 as a judge after being a mentor for several seasons. However, given that she was a hot commodity, American Idol also came calling, wanting to use Clarkson and her fame to relaunch the show after it was canceled on Fox.

“We’re used to The Voice schedule, we already have to work around it because of our family,” Clarkson said in 2018 when married to Blackstock. “We have four children — that can be very taxing with a schedule. It was just a no-brainer for me with The Voice because of that alone.”

Clarkson would stay on The Voice from Season 14 through Season 21 and would return for Season 23. This was an easy choice for Clarkson, as not only did she love being on the show, but it paid well. Clarkson made $560,000 per episode, which, according to Celebrity Net Worth, worked out to be $14 million per season.

However, this is not the most lucrative job that Clarkson has had since breaking into the entertainment industry. That honor goes to Clarkson’s hosting duties on The Kelly Clarkson Show. This is the case after Clarkson successfully renegotiated her contract in 2021 to receive $1.9 million per month as host and executive producer of the show. That equates to nearly $20 million per year.

While Clarkson may have had to hold down several jobs at a time to make ends meet when she was younger, it was that drive that got Clarkson to where she is today. With her appeal not diminishing since her American Idol win in 2002, Clarkson will only continue to grow her net worth. The sky is the limit for Clarkson.

Source: NewsFinale