Paula Abdul proud of Kelly Clarkson

Paula Abdul is Kelly Clarkson’s "second proudest mama".
The ‘Opposites Attract’ hitmaker recently joined her fellow original ‘American Idol’ judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson on the ‘Breakaway’ singer’s new self-titled talk show and Paula couldn’t be happier to see how well Kelly has done since she won the first series of the talent show in 2002.
Paula told ‘People Now’: "I got to tell you, all of us together on Kelly’s show, first of all to celebrate Kelly – I wrote on her wall, I definitely am your second proudest mama because it’s so heartwarming to see her succeed so beautifully and that it was great for all of us to be there."
The 57-year-old star loved getting together with her old friends but feels that, no matter how much time passes between them seeing one another, it’s never uncomfortable when they do meet again.
She added: "The craziest thing is it doesn’t matter I haven’t seen these guys for six weeks, six months, six years, there’s something strange and magical that if we sit down together, it’s like we’ve never missed a day."
Simon – who has five-year-old son Eric with partner Lauren Silverman – has recently undergone a radical transformation after overhauling his diet and Paula was very impressed by the music mogul’s new slender physique.
She said: "The first thing I did was said, ‘You look good’ and he said, ‘I know.’ He does, and being a father suits him very well."
Meanwhile, Simon recently praised Kelly for how well she’s taken to hosting her own show.
He said: "She was brilliant, I have to say, really good. She was an absolute natural. She’s incredible…
"She’s very loyal, gets the whole thing about where we started from… I love her and I’m happy for her."
Simon found it both "hilarious and "surreal" getting the original ‘Idol’ team back together for the interview, though presenter Ryan Seacrest couldn’t be there in person.
He added: "That was exciting, that was hilarious. It’s on next Wednesday.
"It was almost like we were still doing the show. So weird because you know what it’s like when we got together again.
"Ryan was on satellite. I told him I flew in from London to be there, he stayed in New York…
"[It was] surreal… you have to remember, it doesn’t feel like all those years ago that we did the finale, so suddenly I’m sitting on her talk show being interviewed by her."