At the time “Little Miss Sunshine” was released in 2006, MovieFone reported that Abigail Breslin was genuinely listening to Kelly Clarkson’s music in her headphones during filming and not just wearing them for show. But when Breslin appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in October 2021 to retell the story, she clarified that Arkin was the one enforcing this:
“It’s so funny because … I was remembering that when I did ‘Little Miss Sunshine,’ I had to listen to headphones in the scene, and I was actually listening to music because Alan Arkin — there’s a scene where there’s some language that I cannot repeat on television — but, Alan was very, very, like, not comfortable having me listen to it. So he would always check to make sure that I had the headphones on, and was actually listening to music. So I was listening to [Kelly Clarkson’s] Breakaway album. I’m listening to, like, ‘You Found Me.'”
Considering “You Found Me” is the ninth song on Clarkson’s album and is preceded by some all-time hits like “Breakaway” and “Since U Been Gone,” Breslin clearly knows the album and must be telling the truth. What remains to be seen is whether Arkin’s behavior was driven more by embarrassment in his lines or a sincere interest in Breslin’s well-being.