For a while now, we’ve considered Kelly Clarkson to be one of the most inspirational celebrities in the business.

Her quotes on everything from body shaming to bullying have us metaphorically punching the air. We want to enshrine her every tweet onto a motivational quote tile and share it on Instagram. We want to hire the singer as our own personal life coach.

This belief has only been cemented after watching Clarkson’s latest interaction with a guest on her popular chat series The Kelly Clarkson Show. The singer was joined on the couch by Selena Gomez, currently promoting her new album, who shared her insecurities about feeling like she wasn’t a “good” enough singer. 

“I know that people may not think I’m the greatest singer,” Gomez told Clarkson. “But I just work my ass off. I really love writing and creating and creating melodies and growing.” 

She continued: “I felt like this [album] was my chance to say all the things that I wanted to say in that way, which was talking about relationships and talking about difficult times or being vulnerable or being stuck in your head, because I can do that a lot. I wanted it to feel good. I wanted it to feel like every word mattered and you could feel it physically. I’m still in the studio actually now because I feel like it’s inspired me and I want to keep going.”

Clarkson listened to Gomez and, when the singer had finished her train of thought, she tried to correct some of her negative self-talk.

“I want to point something out,” Clarkson said. “The best singer in the world, talking to everyone in the world right now, is not the loudest, and is not the, you know, ‘Oh my god you sing like Whitney Houston.’”

“The best singers in the world move you,” Clarkson stressed. “And that comes from all different sounds and styles, and from a singer to a singer, it’s beautiful what you do, and I love your record. I love big huge songs, but I love singing your music, it means something and it moves people. So, don’t ever negate your gift, because it’s powerful.”

“Thank you,” Gomez said, reaching out to hold Clarkson’s hand, while the audience at the talk show erupted into applause.

Clarkson often uses her talk show as her own personal pep platform. When she hosted Kristen Bell as a guest in 2019, she surprised her by bringing on Bell’s beloved high school drama teacher to reunite the pair. In another, she asked her children, who are huge Aquaman fans, to interview Jason Momoa, the superhero himself.

The Kelly Clarkson Show, she has stressed in interviews, is about spotlighting positivity, kindness and compassion. “I just want everybody to be here and having a good time and it to be an hour of television that isn’t depressing,” Clarkson told Reuters, “like the news.” 

Images: Getty