In January of 2020, a few weeks before the country was shut down due to Covid-19, Kelly Clarkson performed The White Stripes’ anthem ‘Seven Nation Army’ while backed by the USC Trojan marching band.
Listening to these incredible vocals makes me marvel at how, right out of the gate, American Idol managed to identify and elevate one of the nation’s greatest singers. The show did its job splendidly.
I don’t watch Kelly Clarkson’s show, so I can’t say this with any authority, but I assume she doesn’t wade into geopolitics very often.
But on February 25, 2022, the day after Russia invaded Ukraine, she chose as her Kellyoke song the English-language version of Nena’s ’99 Luftballons,’ an anti-war song written during an escalation of Cold War tension.
When watching clips of Miranda Lambert promoting her new album, I wound up catching a great appearance on Kelly Clarkson's show. She and Clarkson shared vocals on a number of songs, the fellow Texans knocking each one out of the park.
Then Twitter's algorithm kicked in, and I started seeing a ton of clips from Clarkson's "Kellyoke" series, the part of the show where she performs a cover — the common wisdom being that it's invariably better than the original.
Continuing my look at the albums of 2004…
Kelly Clarkson has had a successful career on multiple platforms. She started as a reality TV star, the first winner of American Idol. That achievement led her to a recording career spanning nine studio albums in 18 years. It also led to a starring role in the movie From Justin to Kelly, though the less said about that one the better.
She has had far more success as a TV host, with coaching stints on The Voice and her own talk show in the time slot abandoned by Ellen Degeneres.
Kelly Clarkson is one of those artists who releases blockbuster singles every couple of years and maintains radio silence otherwise.
Her biggest hits are instantly recognizable, pure pop pleasure. But I defy anybody but an ardent fan to name a single other track from a Kelly Clarkson album.
Meet Me In Montauk 