First "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson [ tickets ]--whose participation in the highly rated FOX television series has exposed her music to fans ranging from 54-year-old women to children who listen to Radio Disney--is "thankful" for a lot of things.

In the last week, her management announced that she will play Brenda Lee on NBC-TV's "American Dreams," and appear in magazine advertisements for Candie's shoes. She also scored MTV Video Music Awards nominations for "Miss Independent," a cut that she co-wrote with Christina Aguilera and is found on her debut album "Thankful."

Besides the No. 1 debut of "Thankful," the VMA nominations are something that singer is particularly thrilled about.

"I was really excited about that," she said. "I was like, 'Woo hoo!'"

The sprightly Texan, who speaks with the slight Southern drawl, woke up early in her Los Angeles hotel room to talk to liveDaily about her influences, her worldwide success and how her mom has guided her.

You've recorded an album, done a video, then a magazine ad campaign for Candie's. Now you'll be playing the role of Brenda Lee in an episode of "American Dreams." How'd that work it's way into your career path?

We've got a great team. That's what helps too. [NBC] came to me with the "American Dreams" idea. I love the show. I love the idea of it. We go back and perform as artists who influenced us.

Were you influenced by Brenda Lee?

You know what? To be perfectly honest with you, I wanted to do Rosemary Clooney. She's like my all-time favorite performer. [But] she was more in the '50s and the show's more in the '60s. My mom told me about Brenda Lee and I got to know a lot more about her when I did the show. She's very cool. She was very rock. She started out doing country and then she got real rock. That was cool.

Have you taped it already?

Yeah, we already taped it. [I] wore the dress, the wig, everything. [Laughs]. It was a lot of fun. It was really cool. The director is really nice.

For your debut, "Thankful," you worked with some heavy hitters in the music business: Christina Aguilera, Matthew Wilder, Desmond Child and Diane Warren. Who did you learn the most from?

I think ... Diane Warren ... . She was just like, "Take everybody's advice as advice. Don't let it get to you." She's like, "You're gonna know with your gut what's right. Don't let people make you make music that you don't enjoy and you don't love because that'll take all the fun out of it." That was pretty cool. She's one of the most infamous songwriters ever.

Was she intimidating to work with?

She's very different than how … I pictured this really conservative woman that makes beautiful ballads. She's not like that at all. She's wild. She's crazy and she's a lot of fun.

How long have you been writing songs?

My mom actually got me into writing when I was really young. She started out as an English teacher. She was really into literature and everything. She always told me to keep journals. That's how you get your emotions out, and stuff like that. So, I started writing when I was really, really young. Then it just started turning into music. I don't even know when. I wrote four of the tracks on the album: "Miss Independent," "The Trouble with Love Is," I wrote all of "You Thought Wrong," the one I did with [fellow American Idol contestant] Tamyra Gray, and I did "Thankful." I'm very much into writing. I didn't get to write more because we had to get the CD out.

I hope you're really good to your mom.

I just got her a house. A house and a car. She's doing very well.

Your first single, "Miss Independent," is getting a lot of airplay on Radio Disney. Do you get a lot of kids who enjoy your music as well as adults?

You know what's weird? We went around doing errands yesterday and we got stopped by a 54-year-old woman with her husband; she's like "I know I'm 54 but I love your music" and she started going off. I got stopped by little kids. I got stopped by teenagers. It was really cool. I think it's cool that just because of "American Idol" I have a pretty broad listeners and everything. My mom's favorite song, "The Trouble with Love Is," is on the album. Kids' favorite songs are more "Miss Independent." A lot of people my age like "You Thought Wrong"-type songs, or "Low," which is my next single. There's kind of something there for everyone.

Tell me about your upcoming tour. Are you nervous headlining a tour without the other "Idol" contestants behind you?

No, oh my God, I love performing live. Way before "American Idol" I was touring with a band in Austin, around Texas. I'm rehearsing with my band, and we're doing this really cool influence medley. It's so random. I've got some country artists. I think we're fixin' to start up here in a week and a half.

Since you won "American Idol," what's the most unexpected thing that's happened?

Actually, I think everything's exceeding our expectations. Globally, I'm doing really wonderful. I'm going to Japan and the U.K. and other countries and getting started over there. It's really cool because it's just surprising to everybody else, it's really cool for me because nobody knows me for "American Idol." I go to those countries and they just see me as a normal up and coming artist. That's the coolest thing that's been happening.

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