When Kelly Clarkson does Kellyoke (her version of karaoke), no genre is off-limits.
On Monday’s episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer brought her powerhouse vocals to Zedd’s 2018 dance hit “The Middle” featuring Maren Morris and Grey.
Alongside her band Y’all, Clarkson, 42, nailed the Grammy-nominated song with her own subtle spin to It, adding soulful vocal runs while still staying true to the original. Back in March, Clarkson also tackled Morris’ song “The Bones.”
Kelly Clarkson at Radio City Music Hall in May 2024.
Ralph Bavaro/NBCUniversal/Getty
On Morris’ visit to the show in April, the two singers bonded over not just starting their careers in Texas, but also singing the national anthem at amateur wrestling events.
“It was like a hundred dollars to do it and I was like, ‘I could use a hundred dollars,'” Clarkson recalled.
Morris, 34, said she would do the gig every Saturday night. “My friends would come, and we would get to go backstage — it was like a gym, a crappy gym,” she said with a laugh.
The pair also found common ground when it comes to going out after 6 p.m., a trait Morris developed after the pandemic.
Maren Morris performs at Boston Calling Music Festival in May 2023.
Taylor Hill/Getty
“I love having girls’ nights, good dinners, love being in New York, but if anyone invites me to dinner past 6 p.m., I’m not coming,” Morris admitted.
“You would fit in perfect,” Clarkson agreed. “If somebody’s like, ‘It’s at nine,’ I’m like, ‘Have fun!'”
Clarkson’s Kellyoke segment spans a wide variety of genres. On a recent episode with Miranda Lambert, the two did an acoustic cover of “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, with Clarkson herself revisiting Roan a few days later for a Y’all-assisted rendition of “Coffee.” Other recent covers include Patti LaBelle’s “New Attitude,” Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So.”
Clarkson recently shared a video showing the behind-the-scenes process of Kellyoke with her show’s music director Jason Halbert. Halbert revealed that he keeps all of the song requests he receives from email and social media and Clarkson reviews it, choosing what she’s connecting with at the moment.
From there, the “Breakaway” singer and her team cut the song down to two minutes, track and record it, make a music chart, record a reference and review it once more.
Fans can now revisit previous Kellyokes on SiriusXM’s Kelly Clarkson Connection channel.
