Academy of Country Music Awards producers were "so relieved" when Kelly Clarkson laughed off a seat-filler mix-up at the big show, because they're also masterminding the Billboard Music Awards she is hosting.
The singer was asked to give up her place by a venue staffer who mistook her for a member of the public employed to fill the seats of stars at the prizegiving earlier this month (Apr19), but rather than lose her cool she found the honest mistake funny and simply explained to the usher she was where she was supposed to be for the opening of the show.
Clarkson tells Access Hollywood Live she looked like a seat-filler because she was holding items her mother-in-law, Reba McEntire, was planning to use in her monologue as the host of the show.
"I'm, like, holding this drawing... I did probably look like someone's assistant," she explains. "I was holding everything in my lap."
The mix-up left show producers sweating, because they're the same people who will oversee the Billboard Music Awards Kelly is hosting on Wednesday night (01May19).
"They were like, 'Oh my gosh, thank you because most artists would be so mad about it," she says. "I was like, 'What? That's so funny'.
"I died. I was like, 'This is one of the best things to ever happen...'"
Kelly admits the moment put her in her place after she walked the red carpet with her winning The Voice contestant Chevel Shepherd.
"I was so excited... We ran into everyone and I kinda felt like, 'I'm having this amazing night... and I'm so important in my head at the moment', and then the universe came in and kept me humble.
"It was literally verbatim: 'We need to make room for the talent...!' and you don't wanna be the tool that's like, 'My name's Kelly Clarkson!'"
