State Champ Radio Kelly Clarkson Show
Trending on Billboard
By now you’re surely aware that Kelly Clarkson can sing just about any song. The pop star and talk show host has run the gamut from pop and rock to country and soul during her beloved daily “Kellyoke” sessions that open each episode of her daytime chat series. Over the years, she’s taken on songs from Ariana Grande, theWhite Stripes, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Heart and the Pixies, as well as fellow American Idol winner Carrie Underwood, My Chemical Romance and many more.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
So we know Clarkson has eclectic musical tastes, but what inquiring minds really want to find out is what are the singer’s top three albums of all time? Luckily, on Monday’s (Nov. 10) show, Clarkson spilled the beans on her royal trio. Taking viewers on a walk through the backstage of her series’ studio, pointing to some of the pictures of her biggest influences lining the walls, Clarkson set the stage for the big reveal.
Pointing to the framed cover of Lauryn Hill‘s Grammy-winning debut solo album, 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Clarkson said if you don’t like the Billboard 200 No. 1 smash “you’re an idiot,” adding that the LP is one of the reasons she became a songwriter. She also noted that Americana legend Patty Griffin is her all-time favorite singer-songwriter and also shouted out Alanis Morissette, the Toadies and Aretha Franklin, among others.
But when it come to her absolute favorites, there was no doubt, with Clarkson giving a jokey, no bones caveat: “I hope you like them. If you don’t, you’re dumb.”
First up with Griffin’s 2002 classic 1000 Kisses from the artist Clarkson loves so much that her fans have put together “secret” compilation albums of Griffin’s music that have never been officially released.
“I love her so much. Her storytelling, her voice, her tone, her musicianship… the timing. She just does everything so beautiful,” Clarkson said of the 61-year-old Maine native whose self-titled 2019 LP won the Grammy for best folk album. Clarkson recalled that former boyfriend musician Graham Colton introduced her to Griffin’s music. “He was a great dude, but I wills ay the best part of that relationship was honestly him showing me this artist. I cannot thank him enough, she’s changed my life,” Clarkson said.
Number two on Kelly’s list was U2‘s 1998 compilation, The Best Of 1980-1990. While there are other U2 albums she loves, Clarkson said this 14-song compilation featuring such indelible hits as “Pride (In the Name of Love),” “New Year’s Day,” “With or Without You,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Desire,” “Angel of Harlem” and others is the bomb.
“I saw them at Madison Square Garden and it was the most insane show of my life and it was like a spiritual experience,” said Clarkson, who noted that she appreciates the band’s career-long struggle with the sacred and the profane. “Sometimes you’re like, ‘is he talking about a woman? Is he talking about a relationship with God? Is he just stoned and having a good time?’ I don’t know but I’m in and I want to know more,” she said.
The third pick might be a surprise given Clarkson’s pure pop roots, but holding up Hill’s Miseducation, the singer said she had the CD — which she bought with her own money — cued up in her Walkman and did not leave her home except to go to school for days in order to listen to the album on repeat. “I was like, ‘this is the coolest thing,’” she recalled thinking. “It wasn’t just the fact that she’s an incredible vocalist. It wasn’t even the fact that there’s incredible [background vocals] and how they interact with each other and intertwine. It was so clever, but not so processed and thought out. It was, like, organic.”
She also, of course, loved the “real, authentic” messages in the lyrics that, as a budding songwriter, taught her about the importance of writing with an authentic, believable voice. “This was a whole album story like something that will stand the test of time,” she said.
Watch Clarkson talk about her favorite albums below.
Kelly Clarkson got into her rock bag on Monday’s (April 8) episode of the Kelly Clarkson Show, taking the stage for her daily Kellyoke segment in a black leather skirt and vintage Billy Joel concert tee for a rousing run through Miley Cyrus‘ 2020 hit “Midnight Sun.” The smoldering lead single from Miley’s seventh studio […]
Kelly Clarkson paid homage to a classic during The Kelly Clarkson Show.
For the episode’s Kellyoke segment on Friday (April 5), the 41-year-old pop star and TV personality performed an awe-inspiring rendition of Judy Garland‘s “Over the Rainbow.”
Donning a long-sleeved black dress, Clarkson captivated her audience with a passionate delivery of The Wizard of the Oz ballad, originally performed by Garland in the 1939 film.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Away above the chimney tops/ That’s where you’ll find me,” the Grammy winner belted out while backed on guitar by Jaco Caraco.
The beautiful performance ended with a flash of rainbow-colored lights in the background as the crowd cheered approvingly.
Trending on Billboard
“Please put this on the next Kellyoke album so I can dance to it at my wedding,” one fan wrote in the comments section on YouTube.
Another added, “HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!! Ok, Judy Garland is the Standard and no one will ever beat her, but (for me) this is the BEST VERSION of the many, many, many, many, many covers we all have heard!!! OF COURSE IT HAD TO BE KC!!!!”
“I think Judy would be proud of this. Knowing her legacy still lives on in this rendition made me smile,” a third user wrote.
“Over the Rainbow” holds special meaning for Clarkson. During an appearance on Today in 2017, she revealed that she often sings the 20th-century standard to her children, River Rose, 9, and Remington “Remy” Alexander, 7. The singer shares the kids with her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.
“She’ll always cut me off and go, ‘Birds, mommy, birds.’ She always wants me to get to the bird part,” Clarkson said during the interview.
Watch Clarkson cover “Over the Rainbow” below.
[embedded content]
Michael Bublé had a very Canadian near-death experience. The “Haven’t Met You Yet” singer was a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Tuesday (Jan. 16), where he shared a story in which he almost came face-to-face with “aggressive” polar bears in Manitoba, Canada, after attending a film wrap party with actor Berry Pepper. “I […]
Cher is loving Kelly Clarkson’s talent just as much as the rest of us! The “Believe” icon took to X (previously known as Twitter) on Tuesday (Dec. 19) to gush over Clarkson’s recent Kellyoke cover of “DJ Play a Christmas Song” on the latter’s eponymous talk show. “KELLY,,,,U ACED IT,” she wrote. U GOT THE […]
Kelly Clarkson took the Eagles‘ classic “Desperado” to new heights on Friday’s (Dec. 1) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. For her daily Kellyoke cover, Clarkson chose the title track from the band’s 1973 album, taking some creative liberties with the well-known melody and hitting some power notes much loftier than Don Henley’s original vocal. […]
ENHYPEN made their highly anticipated return to The Kelly Clarkson Show less than two weeks before Halloween, to fittingly perform their steamy track “Bite Me” for the Wednesday (Oct. 18) episode of the newly returned daytime show. The K-pop group — which consists of members Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon and Ni-ki — appeared on […]
The Kelly Clarkson Show is finally back — and she’s heading to New York this time. The show announced on Wednesday (Oct. 4) that it will start airing new episodes again later this month, following the conclusion of the 148-day Hollywood writers’ strike. Season five will officially premiere on Oct. 16, and will enjoy its […]
Kelly Clarkson took fans back to the 1970s for the Thursday (April 6) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, performing The Emotions‘ signature hit “Best of My Love” for the opening Kellyoke segment.
Accompanied by her band Y’all, the three-time Grammy winner put her own spin on the girl-group track, using her signature belt to execute soaring high notes and stunning vibrato moments.
“Doesn’t take much to make me happy/ And make me smile with glee/ Never, never will I feel discouraged/ ‘Cause our love’s no mystery/ Demonstrating love and affection/ That you give so openly, yeah/ I like the way you make me feel about you, baby/ Want the whole wide world to see,” Clarkson powerfully sang before launching into the track’s iconic chorus, supported by two backup singers.
“Best of My Love,” released as a single from the girl group’s 1977 album Rejoice, was a smash. The track became The Emotions’ first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending five weeks atop the chart. “Best of My Love” also won at the 20th annual Grammy Awards, taking home a golden gramophone for best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal. “Best of My Love” landed the No. 10 spot on Billboard‘s 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time list.
Watch Clarkson’s rendition of The Emotions’ classic track in the video above.
Juliette Lewis stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show on Wednesday (March 29) and regaled Kelly Clarkson with a story about the time she met Bob Dylan.
During a game of Musical Memories: First and Worst, the frontwoman of Juliette Lewis and the Licks named the folk legend as the first musician she was ever starstruck around.
“The story is even better,” Lewis told the host. “I’m in New York City, I’m working. I walk into an elevator that’s the size of a shoebox, only three people can fit in there. And I look up: It’s Bob Dylan.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“And your heart goes [makes exploding noise], and all these things happen,” the Yellowjackets star continued. “And then he says, ‘You know Bob, huh?’ Bob De Niro. ‘You were in that movie,’ he says to me,” referencing Lewis’ teenage role alongside Robert De Niro in the 1991 Martin Scorsese thriller Cape Fear. “And I’m like, ‘And you’re Bob Dylan.’ And then my little brain was like, ‘Say hi, how are you?’ ’cause I was gonna faint.”
Lewis then revealed she kept one of Dylan’s songs, 1965’s “She Belongs to Me,” on repeat “for months on end” during a particularly challenging time in her life and characterized the icon’s lyrics as “biblical.”
Meanwhile, Clarkson said her own starstruck moment was a tie between meeting Aretha Franklin — whom she called “literally my favorite singer on planet Earth” — and Trisha Yearwood. Turns out she met the Queen of Soul at an event through American Idol judge Randy Jackson, even though she insisted at first that she’d rather “look from afar.”
Watch Lewis’ heartwarming story about meeting Dylan below.
