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What happens when a girl from a tiny town in Texas
goes from being unknown to a superstar in hardly any
time at all? For one thing, she has to change her cell
phone number.
"Somebody put my number on the Internet and random
people were calling all the time!" Kelly says. As for
the Web culprit, it could've been anyone. "I mean,
Papa John's [pizza chain] had my number!"
Kelly doesn't sound even mildly freaked out about the
American Idol whilwind. "I just feel like I have a
really cool job now and I'm getting to work on my
music and meet cool people," she says.
That's a typical Kelly understatement. In only three
months, her number-one song, "A Moment Like This,"
became the best-selling single of the year, both of
her videos (the other was for "Before Your Love")
landed on TRL, and she toured the country with the
other nine finalists. Her album, originally scheduled
for November 2002, had to be postponed until March. "I
don't want to put out a half-crap job," says Kelly,
who's working with writers like Diane Warren. "I want
to make sure my album is great, because that lives on."
While recording, she's also filming From Justin to
Kelly, a musical romantic comedy co-starring her Idol
co-finalist, Justin Guarini. "I play someone who works
at a karaoke place," says Kelly. "We're going on
spring break and [Justin's character and I] keep
trying to get together."
The downside to all the craziness? "You don't get to
see your friends and family as much," says Kelly, who
just got an apartment in Texas, but has only been home
for a week since her win. "We're doing the movie in
Miami and I get Sundays off, so I'm flying my friends
out. I don't know what people in my position do if
they don't have them around."
In addition to plane tickets, Kelly's made one other
big purchase for a friend. Kelly's parents didn't have
much money to kick-start her career (her mom teaches
first grade and her stepdad's a contractor). "My best
friend, Jessica, paid for my demo," she says. "She
also signed me up for the show. So I got her a 2003
limited-edition, 50th anniversary, gray-silver
Corvette convertible. She's so excited --- you
should've seen her face!"
Then, of course, there's newfound interest from boys.
Kelly was recently in a Best Buy getting a TV for her
new place. "I heard a guy tell his friends, 'That's
Kelly from American Idol!' So, he comes up to me and
acts like he doesn't know who I am. He's like, 'Hey, I
was wondering if I could get your number?' I was
like 'Oh, I'm dating someone....' I'm such a dork! I
can't be mean and say, 'No.' But I can't get away with
that [now]. In interviews I'm like, 'I'm not dating
anyone.'"
And she swears she's not going out with Justin,
either. "Nobody believes me!" she says, laughing. "I
wouldn't lie! People ask [if I have a boyfriend] and I
laugh. I'm like, Yeah, in between sleeping and eating?"
And what would stardom be without a little
controversy? Some people say singing at September 11
memorial service was an insensitive marketing ploy. "I
could understand if I was singing 'A Moment Like
This,' but I sang the national anthem," says
Kelly. "That was my first tast of making me out to be
the bad guy."
Controversy number two came a few days after I
interviewed her in December. A tabloid reported Kelly
already had a production agreement to record songs for
an album before she auditioned for American Idol.
(Idol's rules say contestants aren't allowed to have
any talent representation or recording contracts.) An
official statement made on behalf of the show said
Kelly didn't break any rules. Reportedly, she was only
making demos and didn't have a recording contract, so
it was all cool.
"I'm not into all the drama," she told me before that
story came out. "I'm not looking to be Miss On Top. I
just wanna sing and do what I enjoy."
