Kelly Clarkson never expected 'American Idol' to be back so soon.

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson

The 'Because of You' singer - who has daughter River, three, and son Remington, 18 months, with husband Brandon Blackstock - shocked fans when she took on a coaching role on rival show 'The Voice', instead of becoming a judge on the series which made her famous.

But Kelly has now admitted she never expected 'Idol' - which ended in 2016 but is being rebooted by Fox next year - to be back on screen after such a short break.

She said: "Here's the thing, let's keep it real - I thought ['Idol'] was ending. Like a year ago, my kid's one, I was pregnant with my son. And they said, 'Oh, we'll bring it back'. And I thought in five or 10 years. But I didn't know they meant the next year.

"And so I had already been in talks with 'The Voice'. One time I wanted to do it and I was pregnant and the other time we were touring, but I've been a part of 'The Voice' team because my husband manages [coach] Blake Shelton. And I've been on 'Idol' a lot - I gave them 15 years! I was there every season!"

The 35-year-old singer also admitted her daughter gets jealous of the attention her little brother receives.

Speaking to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, she said: "She's not super into us paying a lot of attention to the younger boy Remi.

"She'll literally be like, 'Mommy watch,' and then she'll love on him and be like (smiling), and I'm like, 'You should just love people, not to be validated for it'.

"It's really weird, she's working on some weird character issues right now."