It’s hard to fathom, but this coming June will mark the 22nd anniversary of the debut of American Idol's first season. Tasked with finding the next greatest superstar in the country, the trio of judges and various viewers ended up crowning Kelly Clarkson as the winner. Most would probably agree that Clarkson has become a renowned entertainer since then, and she continues to amaze. If you need further evidence of that though, you should listen to her cover of Katy Perry's "Wide Awake," which even had Perry joking about retiring the song.
The track was covered during the “Kellyoke” segment of Kelly Clarkson's Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show. Every episode opens with the host covering a song she’s a fan of, and she pretty much knocks it out of the park every time. Some of her performances get more attention than others, including her latest cover of “Wide Awake,” which has the tune's original singer in awe. Take a listen for yourself via the clip from the show's official Instagram account:
Now, there have been some great Kellyoke covers on The Kelly Clarkson Show, but this one really takes the cake. Unlike any typical karaoke that has singers performing the song as it was written, the “Since U Been Gone” singer often changes the key of songs and even speeds them up or slows them down as she sees fit. That’s a testament to her incredible producing skills as well as her singing abilities. All in all, this is definitely a performance for the books and further solidifies why Clarkson is hands down the best American Idol in this fan's eyes.
This moment is only made better by the fact that Katy Perry herself, who's a currently an Idol judge, was so moved by her fellow songstress' rendition. With that, Perry left a hilarious comment under the video:
Ok, dang, I can never sing that again.
The “Teenage Dream” singer is currently set to perform at Rock in Rio later this year and is gearing up for, what’s fan hope is, a return to touring after she announced her exit from American Idol. I say all of that to say that it's unlikely she’ll actually retire the song. However, it’s funny to hear her joke and share a sentiment that aligns with what many admirers of the "Breakaway" singer have been saying for some time: the talk show host sings covers better than the original artists.
Maybe I’m the only one but, with Katy Perry set to return to the music industry and Kelly Clarkson’s Las Vegas Residency having come to a close, now might be the perfect time for these two to team up and remind the pop music world who the founders of the modern genre are. If anything, I’d love to see the “I Kissed A Girl” singer return the favor and cover one of Clarkson’s songs. Maybe that could even be Clarkson's Idol-winning song, “A Moment Like This.”
The "Roar" performer wasn’t the only member of the Idol family to comment on Clarkson’s latest Kellyoke peformance, either. Season 8 runner-up and current lead vocalist for Queen, Adam Lambert also found himself jumping into the comments section of the Instagram video, writing:
❤❤❤❤❤❤
One can assume that Adam Lambert knows what Katy Perry is feeling since Kelly Clarkson also covered his original song, “Whataya Want From Me,” back in December 2020 and absolutely crushed it. In fact, the “Stronger” singer’s covers have been so well received, that she even released a six-song EP in 2022 that featured some of her most popular covers. Hopefully, another “Kellyoke” album is in the works and features the star's show-stopping take on "Wide Awake."
Until that happens you can catch the star covering songs on The Kelly Clarkson Show, which airs in syndication from Monday through Friday. It's also available to stream with a Peacock subscription. Also, don’t forget to check out Katy Perry amid her last season of American Idol, which airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC as part of the 2024 TV schedule. Hulu subscribers can also watch episodes of that show next day.
