Kelly Clarkson: ‘I Want to Punch Adele in the Face!’

While she can be rather sassy, Kelly Clarkson never struck us as the violent type before. The pop powerhouse had some strong words for one particular chanteuse. "I want to punch Adele in the face!" Clarkson vented to the Guardian. Don't worry though -- Clarkson means it as a compliment! "She is just too good," Clarkson said. "I saw the Brit awards and I was bawlin' just watching her on YouTube, in a little box this big."

Clarkson also gets serious in the interview, revealing that she neither expected nor wanted to be a star from 'American Idol' ... She just wanted to get paid!

"I had no idea what the show was until the third audition," she told the Guardian. "My goal was just to be a backup singer – I never intended to be in front. But then my apartment in L.A. burned down and I had to move home, I had no money and I had to sleep in my car for three days. I just auditioned for this thing that said they'd pay you, and it happened to be 'American Idol.' I didn't go into it thinking this would happen; I went into it thinking it might pay my electric bill."

Clarkson also addresses her struggles for creative control over her career. After hitting it big on 'Idol' and releasing the smash debut 'Thankful,' Clarkson wrote most of the tracks on 2007's dark, disappointing 'My December,' for which she came under glaring criticism. Ironically though, the Clarkson-penned 'Because of You' from her 'Breakaway' album was a huge hit.

"My biggest song worldwide is 'Because of You,' and … You may as well grab a knife," she told the Guardian. "That song really is the most depressing one I've ever written. I tried to get it on 'Thankful,' and was laughed at and told I wasn't a good writer. So then I tried to get it on 'Breakaway' – and the label saw the results, people responding to it, and allowed it to become a single. Then took credit for its success, of course."

Clarkson and Adele have more than angelic voices in common: they make killer breakup anthems, and Clarkson's new record is full of them. Clarkson herself is pretty happy with the results. "This is the first record that my label and I have agreed on everything. There's one song that I was kinda, uh …," Clarkson told the Guardian, "but it's not a bad song. I'm crossing my fingers that there's no more drama."

Based on her interview, maybe 'Mr. Know It All' isn't about a jerk ex boyfriend -- it sounds like it could be about her label! In the meantime, here's hoping she saves her fists for her naysayers and leaves our girl Adele alone.