Who is your favorite American Idol star?
If you’ve been watching for a long time, you probably remember plenty of the most familiar faces. There was Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, Fantasia Barrino and Carrie Underwood. Many of them went on to have successful solo careers and still perform around the world.
Still, few people have had as much of an impact on pop culture as season one’s winner and country-singing queen Kelly Clarkson.
Since her debut on the show, Clarkson earned herself a record deal at RCA and has released hit record after hit record.
Her debut single, “A Moment Like This,” went to the top of the Billboard charts and was the best-selling country single of 2002. After that, she released her debut album which also shot to the top. She shifted away from country and into pop music for another smash album, Breakaway, released in 2004. To date, she has sold more than 25 million albums and 45 million singles around the world. As a result of all her success, she’s been invited to perform on many TV shows and major award ceremonies.
One of these recent performances, in particular, has been making its rounds on the internet.
In 2016, Kelly Clarkson went back on American Idol in its last season as a guest vocalist to perform her newest single at the time, “Piece by Piece.”
When she went on the show, Clarkson was pregnant with her second child. As she steps out and the lights go up, Clarkson starts into her performance. As always, her voice is resonant, soulful and moving—and it shows on the judges’ faces. Although everyone is clearly moved by the song, the camera eventually settles in on one judge specifically.
After a minute or so of singing, judge Keith Urban can be seen with tears welling in his eyes.
Throughout the song, Clarkson tells the story of how she and her family were abandoned by their father.
When it begins, she describes seeing her dad’s back at the airport as he put their family behind him, in the past. Later, she describes how she was able to rebuild the love she didn’t get from her dad on her own—with her husband Brandon Blackstock, to whom she’s still married! It doesn’t take long before other people in the audience are overcome by emotion as well.
Before long, Clarkson herself starts tearing up and her voice starts to break.
Through her tears, she manages to finish up the song—and nearly everyone in the audience is crying.
When it’s all over, the crowd gives her a standing ovation as she gives a slight apology for all the emotion. “Sorry!” she says. “I’m super pregnant and hormonal.” After it’s all over, Keith Urban remains on his feet with tears in his eyes. After all was said and done, he was interviewed about his emotional reaction to the song by Entertainment Tonight:
“The song, it’s insane. I figure you’re either crying at this performance or you need to check your pulse . . . it’s an amazing song. The humanity in that moment was just [incredible]. You never see that, let alone on TV, so I was grateful to be there to witness it.”
In response to her jokes about pregnancy, Urban responded: “I was starting to wonder if maybe I was too!”
Though it goes without saying, American Idol captured the hearts of millions of people around the world. It also discovered and elevated all kinds of unique talents, many of whom are still successful and with us to this day. Though Kelly Clarkson first made a name for herself 16 years ago in 2002, she’s still a mainstay in the popular music scene.
Though Idol may have finally ended, all the music and beautiful moments from it are sure to live on.
If you’re anything like us, this one Kelly Clarkson performance wasn’t quite enough to satisfy—so we’ve included another one for you!
Although we think of Clarkson as high-powered star these days, why not take it all the way back to the very beginning? If you haven’t seen it in a while, here’s a throwback clip of Kelly Clarkson’s original audition (in front of the first judges, Randy, Paula and Simon). She’s only 20 in the clip and her talent is already on full display. For her song, she takes on the Etta James classic, “At Last.” She shows plenty of personality in her performance and it’s a great moment to revisit.
Congratulations on all your success, Kelly!
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