American Idol crowned its first winner 23 years ago today, kickstarting Kelly Clarkson<\/strong>\u2019s life as a superstar.<\/p>\n The Grammy-winning artist, 43, celebrated her big win via Instagram on Thursday, September 4, and began her message by thanking her day-one fans who voted her as the first-ever American Idol.<\/p>\n \u201cWinning American Idol changed my life and I will be forever grateful for all of you that have supported me for so many years,\u201d Kelly captioned the post<\/a>. \u201cIt is a gift to find your purpose and passion, and to be able to make a living doing it is the cherry on top. Thank you, always.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kelly Clarkson Show host paired the message with a photo of the moment she was announced the winner and embraced by her fellow contestants, including runner-up Justin Guarini<\/strong>, Nikki McKibbin <\/strong>and Christina Christian<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Photo by Kevin Winter\/ImageDirectPhoto by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect<\/p>\n Fans celebrated Kelly\u2019s 23rd anniversary of her big win, with most admitting that they fell in love with her early on in the competition.<\/p>\n \u201cYou had me at \u2018cool beans\u2019 before the audition even started (your backup plan was to be a fashion designer and you were wearing a denim outfit you made),\u201d one person wrote in the comments section of the post. \u201cAnd then \u2026 you sang, and I remember thinking \u2018that girl don\u2019t need a backup plan\u2019 you\u2019re still the best!\u201d<\/p>\n Kelly brought fans to tears when she performed \u201cA Moment Like This\u201d as her winning song, which later became her debut single.<\/p>\n In 2024, the Voice mentor forgot the anniversary of her big win when her producer reminded her of the date.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my god! I didn\u2019t even \u2013 when you said that date I got nervous, like, \u2018Did I miss an anniversary?\u2019\u201d she laughed. \u201cTwenty-two years since winning American Idol. You know what? And I\u2019m back on TV, who would have thought? That\u2019s so exciting! Andy, I forgot. I didn\u2019t realize what day it was.\u201d<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfac\u00a0<\/strong>SIGN UP for Parade\u2019s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\ud83c\udfac<\/strong><\/p>\n This story was originally reported by Parade<\/a> on Sep 4, 2025, where it first appeared in the News<\/a> section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span><\/div>\n