Kelly Clarkson wants a separate chart for AI music

Kelly Clarkson says she loves artificial intelligence, but she does not think AI-made music should chart against human artists. The singer made the case during the September 30 episode of the Las Culturistas podcast, and coverage of the fan backlash ran October 1.

Clarkson is a Grammy winner and a longtime NBC "The Voice" coach, which gives her opinion on AI and music real reach with fans.

Speaking with hosts Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang on the Las Culturistas episode "Coach Kelly", which the show's own iHeart listing dates to September 30, 2026, Clarkson used the podcast's "I Don't Think So, Honey" rant segment to make her case. Stereogum transcribed the full minute, and Variety verified the same wording.

"Controversial, I don't care. Here's the thing. I love AI," Clarkson said. "There are very amazing things with AI that I am obsessed with, and I'm very into it artistically, too. I have fun with it just like everybody else does. But when you see AI artists competing on a chart with humans, I have an issue. I think there should be a separate chart. I think it's welcome. I think it's really cool and creative what we're going to create with AI, musically. People that maybe can't do certain things will maybe be able to do it now. I think it's a fun field to play in, but I don't think that they should be competing with humans. It's basically like having the Olympics and then you're having robots compete with humans. Well, who's gonna throw further? Oh, I wonder. I'm down with it, and I think it's a very interesting thing, and what we're gonna do with it is gonna be fun. But I do not think they should be competing."

Earlier in the episode, Clarkson called ChatGPT her "lover" and said she uses it to sketch landscaping ideas, calling the tool "a designer's dream," according to USA Today.

Billboard has not barred AI-generated songs from its charts. The outlet said in August it remains committed to "creating greater transparency around the use of artificial intelligence in music, including identifying songs on its charts and in its editorial coverage that use AI," the Hollywood Reporter reported. Stereogum noted Australia has already made wholly AI-generated recordings ineligible for its national charts, while the UK's Official Charts has not announced a policy. Yang told Clarkson he had no idea AI and human artists were charting together, per Stereogum.

The reaction was not warm. On X, a user wrote, "I love Kelly Clarkson, but like girl, you like it until it affects you and your business. What about all the other industries it's impacting? And the harm on our environment?" USA Today reported. On Reddit, one listener called the episode "a great, dark reminder that these people we all glorify for their talent and creativity are still sucked in to AI," adding it was "actually my nightmare" while getting ready for work as a graphic designer, per the same report. Rolling Stone collected further criticism on X and YouTube tying the remarks to AI's energy use and fears it will replace working artists.

Clarkson held her position. "We can't lose human," she said, per the Hollywood Reporter. "We can't lose what that is. But there could be an appetite for both, is what I'm saying."

The full "Coach Kelly" episode of Las Culturistas is streaming now on iHeart and other podcast apps; Clarkson's AI remarks run inside the "I Don't Think So, Honey" segment, roughly 1 hour and 22 minutes in.