United Kingdom, March 27 -- Kelly Clarkson didn't realise 'American Idol' was a TV show prior to auditioning.

The 42-year-old singer became the inaugural winner of 'American Idol' back in 2002, but Kelly wasn't even aware that the show would be broadcast on national TV.

The 'Behind These Hazel Eyes' hitmaker said on the 'Not Gonna Lie' podcast: "For all of us in that first season, we literally didn't ... I didn't even know it was a TV show until my third audition.

"Like, we were literally trying to pay our bills. We're like, 'Oh, this might work. I might meet someone or whatever.' Nobody knew it was gonna amount to anything.

"We were literally, like, kids - you know, 19 years old just trying to pay my electric bill y'all. You know, an...