Kelly Clarkson Offers Up Her ‘Umbrella’ in Rockin’ Rihanna Cover: Watch
Written by djfrosty on November 7, 2022
You can stand under Kelly Clarkson‘s umbrella, ella, ella. For the Monday (Nov. 7) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the three-time Grammy winner performed a Kellyoke cover of Rihanna‘s 2007 smash hit “Umbrella” and added a rock n’ roll twist.
Equipped with electric guitars and pushed forward by thundering drums, Clarkson and her band Y’all reconstructed the song’s original pop mix into a hardcore free-for-all. “You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh,” belted the “Stronger” singer as one guitarist shredded out a solo, blue stage lights made to look like lightning strobing all around.
Released as the lead single off her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad, “Umbrella” marked Rihanna’s second of 14 (so far) Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s (following 2006’s “SOS”). Featuring Jay-Z, who also helped write the track, it went on to earn the Fenty Beauty mogul her first ever Grammy award, winning best rap/sung collaboration in 2008. At that year’s ceremony, “Umbrella” was also nominated for record of the year, though Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson’s “Rehab” ended up taking the prize.
Clarkson’s cover comes just after Rihanna made her return to music following a six-year hiatus. On Oct. 28, she released “Lift Me Up,” a single she contributed to the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever film soundtrack.
The “Love on the Brain” musician hasn’t performed live in nearly as many years as she went without releasing music, but that’s also set to change come Super Bowl Sunday next year. In September, it was announced that Ri would be headlining the Halftime Show, something she recently opened up about feeling nervous for.
“The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, it’s an entertainer’s dream to be on a stage like that,” she said in a Monday (Nov. 7) interview. “But it’s nerve-racking. You want to get it right. You know, everybody’s watching. And they’re rooting for you. And I want to get it right.”
Watch Kelly Clarkson perform Rihanna’s “Umbrella” above.