Pop star Kelly Clarkson insists she has a difficult time persuading singers to duet with her, and often feels as if she has "the plague".

The Since U Been Gone hitmaker had a wish list of fellow performers she wanted to collaborate with on her latest album, Piece by Piece, but she tells the BBC that asking them to hit the studio with her was much harder than she thought it would be.

She said, "I honestly would collaborate with a lot of people, but everyone usually says no. I'm not kidding you. I have legitimately asked several people who I'm not going to call out. And that's cool, but I don't know.

"I ask good people, I don't want to sing with crap people, so I ask people who are great vocalists... I have asked several people, but sometimes I feel like I have the plague, or leprosy."

However, the Grammy winner did snag John Legend for the track Run Run Run, as well as Chandelier hitmaker Sia, who wrote two of the songs on the album, one of which will be Clarkson's next single.

Piece by Piece will be released on 27 February (15).