The three-time Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson will be going for her fourth win—Best Pop Solo Performance for her single “Love So Soft”—when the 60th Annual Grammy Awards show airs January 28 on CBS. Clarkson, 35, will then join Blake Shelton, Alicia Keys and Adam Levine as a coach for season 14 of The Voice, premiering February. 26.

Is this Grammy nomination just as special as the first one in 2003?

It only gets more exciting. When you’re nominated, it’s amazing. But when you’re nominated with people you really dig and you listen to, you’re like, “Oh, man—OK, I’m doing something right.”

Do you get nervous when you perform?

Only on rare occasions. I sang for the pope and they [said], “Don’t turn your back to him.” But then you can’t turn your back to the bishops or the crowd either, and I was like, “How many fronts do you think I have?” I was nervous the whole time, not so much for singing, but that I was going to insult an entire religion.

What kind of Voice coach do you think you’re going to be?

I’m pretty hands-on. I want to pull out the “real” factor with my contestants. You might as well be yourself and lay it all out there. It makes for a better artist.

Best advice you’ve ever received?

Never take advice from someone you wouldn’t want to switch places with. There are not a lot of people on that list for me. So, take advice from someone whose path you would want to be on, someone you would be proud to walk in their footprints.

Get a sneak peek of Kelly Clarkson on The Voice in the video below:

Of course, you won the first season of another TV singing competition, American Idol, in 2002. Does that experience shape your coaching and judging style for The Voice?

I think I’m going to have a little different approach than maybe the other coaches in the past, but I think that’s because people like Jennifer Hudson and me, we’ve been in these competitions. It is different than just signing up with a record label and making a record. It’s a competition.

Is there a difference between being a judge and a coach?

I like the fact that I’m a coach, not a judge, because I’m much more of a people person. I’m incapable of not knowing everyone’s cousins’, uncles’ and sisters’ names and why they tick and all the reasons they wanted to do what they do, so I think it’s really cool because I’ll get to be able to jump into their personalities a bit too. You’re able to do that on The Voice because you’re a coach. I’m really looking forward to it.

What type of artists were you looking for?

My team is how I love my music and how I like my people, so there’s a lot of different varieties and genres of music, but I probably have the youngest team. I didn’t mean to, but I think I did that because I naturally go for the people who aren’t perfect right off the bat.

I was on a competition. I learned a lot about myself and I think it’s more intriguing to go along on a journey with someone. I think it’s always silly when you can tell that an artist thinks they’ve already figured everything out, and that’s not very exciting for you either.

You must have been fighting with Blake for the younger artists, because he always goes for the young ones too.

I’ll tell you what I had to freaking fight Blake on. People think they’re betraying country music when they don’t pick him. It is hard to get a country artist on your team. We did, but it was really hard. It’s a really hard thing to navigate when he’s been on there for 14 seasons.

Does having American Idol give you an advantage?

I think so. Obviously, I’m the newbie. I’m the rookie on this season. Everybody’s already been on the show before, had a team and have gone through everything, and they point it out constantly, which is great. But I always mention, “Well, I’ve been on a show. It’s not like it’s a complete foreign idea to me.” I always rub that right back in their face. Blake’s always the first one to be like, “Oh, it’s cute, this is your first season,” and I’m like, “OK, it’s cute.”

We’re a very fun, feisty bunch. All four of us are competitive, in a good way. We’re excited and still passionate as artists and we’re competitive and we’re all four, very talented and just very different.

Why do you think people, after all this time, still love these talent competitions?

I’m from one, and every time someone meets me, they do compliment my voice but they more compliment my person, and I think that’s because of how I got in this industry. I think it’s because people feel like I’m their little sister that was on the show, or I’m their friend that made it. I was in their house every week. I think the power of TV is incredible. Being in someone’s life on a weekly basis for a point of time, it’s pretty incredible. People like to see and to root for someone, they like to be on a team.

Why is sports a billion-dollar industry? People like to be a part of it. I think that’s what’s really key for shows like this and why there’s a plethora of them now.

It is interesting because when I was on [Idol], there was one [show]. It’s such a different dynamic now. Everybody has their own way of doing it. It is interesting how unacceptable it was in the beginning to a lot of people in the industry, and now all those same people are on these shows. So, that’s funny, but I think it’s good.

I think it’s a new way in the industry for fans to become a part of the artist’s life, not just music. They get to know them more as a person. I don’t think you get to do that a lot of times, unless the person is an avid social media person.

Before The Voice, you were also a coach on Duets.

I’m going to be real with you, I’ve done every singing competition. I’ve been a part of every one across the world, I think, because I won the initial one here in the States, and it was big. The inaugural winner was actually Pop Idol in the U.K. and his name was Will Young. He’s a cool dude. But everybody always plays me as the first one, so I think I’ve been on every Voice in every country, every Idol in every country, every X-Factor. I’ve been on quite a few, and I did Duets with John Legend, Jennifer Nettles and Robin Thicke.

That was a crazy experience because they were, obviously, trying to compete with all the other shows. But I don’t think they really nailed what they really wanted to do. I got to meet John and we ended up singing together on my record after that and singing at the Hollywood Bowl, and Jennifer Nettles and I became friends. So it’s one of those experiences that I loved just for the people I met.

So, be it that show or all the other ones, that’s why I always laugh when Blake and Adam are like, “Well, it’s your first time.” I’m like, “It really isn’t. I’ve really been doing this longer than you.” It’s cool. They always like to pick at me, so I’m cool with it, that means I’m threatening.

You seem to be in a really good place right now.

I’ve never been happier in all avenues of my life. I keep waiting for the rug to be pulled out or something because it’s really just great. We have happy and healthy kids, I love my road family and I can’t wait to tour, I’ve made one of my favorite records to date, and I’m looking forward to The Voice.

Which Voice coach was toughest to beat for artists?

I’m going to be real with you, Alicia’s probably the hardest one to beat as far as getting people on your team. She’s a really credible artist, not only as a singer but as a musician and producer. I can see why a lot of people pick her.

Who would you like to see perform at the Grammys?

Certain years in music are just awesome. Sam Smith has something out that’s awesome; P!nk, and Kehlani had some cool stuff out, just so many people. There’s a lot of new artists too, that I dig. We’ll all be in the same place, so that’ll be cool.

Do you obsess about what to wear to the Grammys, or do you have a stylist that you trust, so you know that whatever they give you will be perfect?

Literally, I would show up in jeans, a T-shirt and a baseball cap if I were left to my own devices. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate the art that it is. I think it’s beautiful. Christian Siriano made me three gorgeous dresses for my last performance on the AMAs. I totally am appreciative of the art, but it’s just not something I’m super into. My stylist is really into it, so I trust her to put me in something that is the most flattering but also comfortable. I don’t really ever think about it, honestly. I just show up and put something on.

Do you have a good luck charm that you take when you go to awards shows?

I don’t, girl, I don’t believe in superstitious stuff or anything like that. The last awards show we did, I got to take my two girls. We have four kids and I took two of the girls. So, that was really fun for our 16-year-old and our 3-year-old to experience that all with me, and they got to sit with me. It’s really cool to bring different family people every time just because it also helps you not be jaded. Doing it for 15 or 16 years, it helps keep it fun and new.

Your album, Meaning of Life, is like a new chapter for you. Is this the music that is most true to who you are?

I don’t know that I’d make that statement because I really love Big Band, I love alternative music, I love hip hop, R&B, pop, and country. I did grow up listening to quite an eclectic catalog. This is the most true for me innately as a vocalist. The people that inspired me to even be a singer were very soulful. Whether it was soulful R&B, soulful pop or soulful country, it’s all soulful, which is what I loved, and even singing gospel growing up.

There’s no song on this album I had to put on the album just to play the game, just to ensure that my record would get promoted, or I could get stuff on it that I liked. There was no negotiating, it was just everybody’s down for this creative ride, and if everybody wasn’t into it, we didn’t do it and we aimed higher.

I feel like this is how a record should be made. I feel like this is what the artistic industry should be like and that’s what I mean by this is 100 percent me. This is the record that I’ve been wanting to make. It’s a record that’s 100 percent authentically me.

Even my pop records, I love them, I love singing my songs, my hits that people love, but I’ve never had a record, other than my Christmas record, that was 100 percent KC approved. There’s been a lot of negotiating.

You are also a children’s book author (River Rose and the Magical Christmas came out Oct. 24).

I’m getting to do this off to the side. It’s navigating in a different creative field, but it’s still creative, fun and different for me. I think I’m finally at a point in my career where people that I work with are excited at the fact that I like to do a lot of different things. To always stay focused and only do one thing, I think that that’s a silly mentality in the creative field.

What are you hoping that 2018 is going to bring?

Oh, man, I’ve had such a freaking fantastic 2017, I’m not even going to be greedy. I don’t know what 2018 holds but I’ve had a really awesome, random 2017. Especially the last six months, it’s been pretty incredible. We’re routing my tour, we want to hit the road with this record, and I haven’t toured in a [while] because I’ve been having babies, so that takes time. I’m really looking forward to being on The Voice some more, and I’m looking forward to touring. After that, who knows? I don’t even plan anymore, I just kind of go with what I feel like doing. You never know what’s going to happen around the corner, it’s crazy.