KELLY CLARKSON - MCENTIRE IS CLARKSON'S AMERICAN IDOL

MCENTIRE IS CLARKSON'S AMERICAN IDOL

KELLY CLARKSON has found her own AMERICAN IDOL - country music matriarch REBA MCENTIRE. Clarkson, 25, has declared 52-year-old MCEntire her musical mother, hailing her as a "light at the end of the tunnel" and all-round inspiration. She tells U.S. chat show host Larry King, "It's just like - because all of my friends laugh at me, because I look like such an idiot in the public eye. But, yes, I totally had the posters on my wall and she's great. She's the light at the end of the tunnel." The pair initially sang together in 2002 when they performed MCEntire's 1993 hit Does He Love You on a post-season American Idol special. Since then they have produced a hit - their version of Because Of You from MCEntire's new Reba Duets album.