The 2006 Grammys will always be memorable to Kelly Clarkson, and not because she walked away with two awards.
She had been told just a few hours prior that she had cancer. It wasn't until the day after the awards that she found out she was misdiagnosed.
"Well, not many people know this — not to be a Debbie Downer — but I was told that morning that I had cancerous results for something," she told Billboard's Pop Shop Podcast.
It should have been a banner night for the now 34-year-old singer. She won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone" and Best Pop Vocal Album for "Breakaway." She was also set to perform that evening, as well. This was supposed to be a full-fledged breakout evening for her.
"Here's the horrible part: I went the whole day crying. They redid my makeup, like, four times because I was like, 'Wow, so young.' I was just completely freaking out," she said. "Then when I won, I thought, 'Oh, my God. This is like God giving me one more thing before something horrible happens.'"
Looking back at her award speeches that evening, the mother of two was shaken, but most attributed it to nerves or happiness.
During her televised speech 11 years ago, she said, "Um … oh, God! You know I'm terrible at speaking when I cry, so sorry! Thank you so much. Ah! OK. Thank you to everybody that has supported me this year, including my record label and my management. … Thank you to my mom. Thank you so much, Mom. I'm sorry I'm crying again on national television! Thank you to the fans. Thank you to everyone that worked on my record. Yikes! Just thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me. Thank you so much!"
The next day, she got a phone call telling her that she actually didn't have cancer and there was a mix up in the lab.
"I was like, 'You completely ruined my entire [experience],'" she told the podcast. "The first time for an artist … as a kid watching the Grammys, that was a big dream! It was kind of the worst/greatest day."
She added, "And the next day was also the worst/greatest day because I wanted to punch someone. I was like, 'Who mixes up results? Why wouldn't you test again?' It was very much a roller coaster ride, that day, for me. So, it's kind of unfortunate, but a lot of the moments got stolen from that mishap. But hey, I didn't have cancer!"