Twenty-four years ago, a 20-year-old girl from small-town Texas took a chance on a brand-new reality TV show called American Idol. Since winning the program’s first title, Kelly Clarkson has built an insanely successful career in music. Regarded without hyperbole as one of the greatest singers of all time, she has collected three Grammy Awards and released 12 Top 10 Billboard hits.
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Additionally, outside of music, the “Behind These Hazel Eyes” songstress, 43, boasts eight Daytime Emmy Awards for her hosting gig on NBC’s The Kelly Clarkson Show. And she’s still able to flex her vocal muscles with the show’s “Kellyoke” segment. During this part of the show, the CMA Award-winning artist covers a song by another artist. For Monday’s (Jan. 12) episode—her first since a brief holiday break—the American Idol champ yet again stunned viewers with her soulful take on the Red Clay Strays’ “No One Else Like Me.”
“Pure Magic”: Kelly Clarkson Shines on Country-Rock Cover
Written by lead singer and guitarist Brandon Coleman with his younger brother Matthew Coleman, “No One Else Like Me” comes from the Red Clay Strays’ sophomore album, 2024’s Made By These Moments. But as usual, hearing Kelly Clarkson belt the country-rock number will cause you to forget anyone else has ever sung it.
I’m a broken writer, I’m a restless fighter / And I’m looking for a little hope, she sings. I’m a shadowed thinker / I’m a one-eyed blinker at the end of his rope.
“This feels like an absolute master class in blending genres,” one viewer raved on Instagram. “Like, somehow this is rock, country, pop, blues, gospel…PURE MAGIC!”
Catch Her in Vegas
On Nov. 15, Kelly Clarkson wrapped up the first leg of her Studio Sessions residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. However, if you missed out, don’t fret—the “Since U Been Gone” singer will return July 17 for another eight-show run, ending Aug. 15.
Needing vocal rest, Clarkson postponed the first few shows ahead of the residency’s July 4 opening night. A month later, she again put performing on hold following the death of ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, the father of her two children. Blackstock died Aug. 7 at age 48 after a three-year battle with melanoma.
Featured image by Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
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