Kelly Clarkson To Step In For Recuperating Simon Cowell As Guest Judge On ‘America’s Got Talent’

Nellie Andreeva
·2 min read

Simon Cowell helped jump-start Kelly Clarkson’s career with her win on the first season of American Idol, where he arguably was the most influential judge. Now she is returning the favor by filling in for Cowell as a judge on his NBC reality series America’s Got Talent.

Clarkson will serve as a guest judge on this Tuesday and Wednesday’s live telecasts of the Terry Crews-hosted AGT, alongside fellow judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Sofia Vergara. Cowell will skip this season’s opening live shows as he is recovering from a complex back surgery following an electric bike accident over the weekend.

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Clarkson is in the NBC family. She has been a coach on fellow talent competition The Voice. Additionally, she hosts NBCU’s The Kelly Clarkson Show, which was the recent Daytime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show for its first season. In addition, Clarkson was named Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.

America’s Got Talent ranks as this summer’s No. 1 series on the Big 4 networks in every key measure – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, plus total viewers – as well as with kids 2-11 and teens 12-17. It remains the summer’s top alternative series in total viewers for a 15th consecutive season and has led NBC to 18-49 wins among the Big 4 on every Tuesday night so far this summer.

The current season of AGT is averaging a 1.6 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.3 million viewers overall in Live+7 Nielsens, and its May 26 season premiere has increased to a 3.2 in 18-49 and 14.8 million viewers.

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