Kelly Clarkson was absent from several episodes of her award-winning talk show earlier this month. While viewers missed seeing the American Idol alum, they got the opportunity to see a rotating cast of guest hosts. Additionally, the Kellyoke segments looked a little different than usual. For instance, the March 17 episode featured Living Colour’s Corey Glover performing the classic “Cult of Personality.”
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Usually, Clarkson takes the stage with her band, My Band Y’all, to cover some of her favorite songs during the opening Kellyoke segments. This time, though, Clarkson’s band backed Glover as he delivered a powerful rendition of the ’80s classic. It was a trip down memory lane for many guests. Watch the performance below.
[RELATED: Living Colour, “Cult Of Personality”]
After the performance, Penn asked Glover if the meaning of the song had changed for him since releasing it decades ago. “No. Hell no. No,” Glover replied.
Corey Glover Performs an Enduring Hit on the Kelly Clarkson Show
Living Colour released “Cult of Personality” as the second single from their 1988 debut album Vivid. It went to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Album Rock Tracks chart. Later, it won Best Hard Rock Performance at the 1990 Grammy Awards. This made Living Colour the first all-black band to take home a trophy in that category.
Corey Glover reflected on the song’s impact during an appearance on The Logan Show last spring. “I think if it weren’t for that song, I’d be working at UPS,” he said. Then, he talked about the song’s enduring nature. “It seems like every so often it pops up in interesting places,” he said. Glover noted the song’s inclusion in Guitar Hero and pro wrestler CM Punk who used the song as his entrance music. Additionally, he said, the song comes up in political discourse, “People use it and quote it on newscasts. It has a weird sort of continuing life that I am very happy and very grateful that it exists,” he added.
Glover also revealed that In Living Colour was working on a new album and he hoped to see new music hit the market sometime this year.
Featured Image by Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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