Link to Part I:
http://www.kelliefans.com/forum/kell...tml#post375760 (Excellent long interview by Kellie 7 20 2007 Part I)
What was it like going back on Idol this year to sing ''I Wonder''? Sometimes it's hard after being on that show for artists to come back and present themselves in a new way.
I missed everybody so much that it was good to catch up. But it is a little scary, because it's been a year since everyone saw you, and everybody expects you to look and be exactly the way that you were when you left. A lot's happened in a year. I went from working at Sonic Drive-in, where I made $2.15 an hour, roller-skating burgers out for a living, hoping tips would be good that day, nobody caring about me — all they wanted was their food. And overnight, you're on 40 million TV sets. You think someone's not gonna change when that happens to them? You're automatically gonna put your guard up. I'm very flattered that people actually are interested in me. But I went from nobody knowing anything about me... Yeah, everyone in Albemarle knew my mom wasn't around and that my dad was always in trouble, but nobody cared. Now it's on the front page of every paper:
Kellie Pickler's dad is going to court tomorrow. Now all of a sudden people are interested in it. Of course I'm gonna change as a person when I have to deal with the fact that my 7-year-old brother goes to school and has kids come up to him now saying, ''We just saw your daddy, he was on the front page of the paper, he's back in jail.'' I try to respect my family, and I don't want to hurt them. I don't want them to disown me. I've been saying since the beginning, you can't make everybody happy — but I'm still guilty of trying.
Yeah, going back on the show, people are gonna say great things about you, and people are gonna say bad things about you.
Reading all those horrible comments that people made about me — it hurt my feelings, but at the end of the day it was like, I didn't do anything wrong. I'm just growing. I'm just developing into a woman.
There were a lot of negative comments?
Oh yeah, there were so many mean things, like ''Oh, she's so fat now, she's gained 20 pounds.'' It was so judgmental. How can you say such horrible things about someone? I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I gave someone a complex like that. I could never say anything bad about Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan or the girls you see that are being completely scrutinized in the press. You just never know the situation. I have people saying I have an eating disorder because I've lost weight. I did gain 20 pounds last year, but [after losing it] I'm not even as small as I was when I auditioned for
Idol. Then there were rumors that I was pregnant.... There are some mean people out there that don't have anything better to do than talk bad about other people. Yeah, it hurts.
There was also just this big thing [in the
Enquirer]: ''Kellie and Jessica Simpson are new BFFs!'' [It said] we were out at a club in Dallas — on a night I was actually playing in New York with Brad — and she was pouring her heart out to me about John Mayer, and I told her that he hit on me. I've never even met either one of them! So if I'm ever bored with my life, I can just pick up a magazine and go, ''Actually I just went partying with Jessica Simpson last night!''
How do you feel about the Kelly Clarkson controversy? It seems like there are a lot of people rooting for her to fail right now, for some reason.
I'm honestly a really big Kelly Clarkson fan. And I love how she stands her ground. I respect the fact that she said, ''I really want to do it my way this time. I just want to see what it'd be like to put out my music the way I want it to be.'' She could have done a record the exact way that the record label wanted her to do it — there's still gonna be people out there that don't like it. Either way, you can't win for losing. We've got more important things going on in the world today than whether or not you like somebody's song on their album. There's a freakin' war going on.... [but world issues] are not being given half as much attention as Britney Spears for not wearing panties. Who cares? If the girl doesn't want to wear panties, leave her alone. I'd rather focus on my troops that are dying for me so that I can actually sit here and have this conversation with you, and homeless kids that are in shelters, than whether or not Britney has panties on. To tell you the truth, I don't even have any panties on right now. I don't care! Let's focus on things that are important, and let people be happy. Let Kelly absorb — she just made a record, let her enjoy that moment of being able to turn on the radio and hear her song. Let her enjoy her work and her passion.
I wouldn't want my little brother to grow up and be one of those people that points fingers at everybody. I want him to be someone that prays for everybody. You know? And he does. I wish people could be more like my 7-year-old brother.
![kellie-pickler-[9-30]-*-pickler-kellie-cd](http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/pict/220287852851_0.jpg)
Thanks Kellica for My Set and Nikki for my Blinkie! 
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