There aren’t many people who have had the same career path as Kelly Clarkson, but Julianne Hough is one of them. The “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” alums bonded over what it’s like to go from 2000s-era reality show darlings to hosts on Friday’s episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
“This is going to be just like coming back home,” Hough said. The dancer will be returning to “Dancing with the Stars” as its co-host alongside returning emcee Alfonso Ribeiro, replacing Tyra Banks for Season 32.
Hough said that she had “just finished high school, basically” before she was cast on the competition show. “I was 18, I was on the show. I was a dancer first and won my first two seasons back to back and then came back as a judge. That was one of the most fulfilling moments. And then of course to come back as a host, it just really does seem full circle,” Hough said.
Hough also told Clarkson why she passed on the hosting gig when she was first offered it at the age of 18. “I was like, ‘I want to be a respected actress and singer. I don’t want to be on a competition show dancing.’”
“Because that can get skewed in the public eye,” Clarkson added.
“Yeah, yeah for sure. I was like, ‘This is what I want to do. This is my path,’” Hough said. “And then I was like, ‘Well I guess it’s kind of a good thing to be able to have that as my day job, you know?’”
Hough said that she’s “so full of love and gratitude” for “Dancing with the Stars.” “I have had the most support and the most loyal fans from that show,” Hough said.
Around the time Clarkson and Hough both broke onto the scene, their respective competition reality shows were across the hall from each other. But reality TV starts aren’t the only similarities these celebrities share. While talking about her recent Broadway play “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” Hough revealed that one of her worst fears came true. She forgot to speak while on stage.
“Meaning I just forgot it was my turn,” Hough clarified. She called themoment “the biggest dream you have, like nightmare” and revealed that she “just froze” while one stage. As scary as that mistake may be, Hough isn’t alone in making it. Clarkson revealed that the same thing has happened to her when she’s performing her music. Sometimes she’s had to make it up “in the moment.”
“Actually, you just made me think of something,” Hough said. “When I was touring and doing country music, I forgot the lyrics to my own song that I wrote.”
“Specifically the ones you write! What is that?” Clarkson asked “Like we weren’t certain? We had so many ideas for maybe this line that we couldn’t remember which one we went with? I don’t know what happens. But it’s the worst when it’s your song.”
Watch the two reality hosts palling around on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” above.
