Few can match the vocal talent of Kelly Clarkson. The Fort Worth, Texas native set the standard for all future American Idol hopefuls when she won the inaugural season back in 2002. Since then, Clarkson has sold more than 25 million albums and notched 11 U.S. Top 10 singles. These days, the 42-year-old is also adding EMMYs to her arsenal as she hosts her daytime program The Kelly Clarkson Show. Many fans look forward to the “Kellyoke” segment, in which Clarkson effortlessly belts out covers like Coldplay’s “Fix You” and Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” However, it seems the singer recently met her match in a Bon Jovi tune.
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Kelly Clarkson Is No Match for Jon Bon Jovi
Clarkson has never met a cover song she couldn’t absolutely slay. However, the “Breakaway” singer admitted that “Blaze of Glory,” Bon Jovi’s 1990 hit, “almost killed me,” during a recent “Kellyoke” segment.
“Not even ’cause I can’t sing it,” the GRAMMY winner confessed. “I just can’t read.”
On June 6, Clarkson’s show shared a blooper reel to YouTube. The “Miss Independent” artist gets only a couple of lyrics in before her memory fails her. “Oh man,” she says, wincing. “My learning disability kicked in.”
The rest of the video doesn’t go much more smoothly for Clarkson. At one point, the former Voice coach lets out a piercing scream of frustration. At another, she lets slip an obscenity.
Eventually, Clarkson requires an intervention. That’s when Jon Bon Jovi himself strolls out onto the stage. The “Chemistry” singer falls to her knees in front of him. “I can’t say the words!” she shrieks, before standing up to embrace the “It’s My Life” artist.
“Come on, girlfriend,” the 62-year-old frontman says, giving Clarkson an encouraging pat on the back,
“I grew up on that song,” Clarkson insisted. “I know that song. But in rehearsal, I messed it up, like, a gazillion times.”
It’s comforting to learn that even the mighty Kelly Clarkson has “off” days.
“So she is not perfect,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter. “I’ve never would have guessed.”
Will Kelly Return to ‘American Idol?’
As American Idol’s first-ever winner, Kelly Clarkson seems like a natural choice to replace departing judge Katy Perry.
Don’t count on it, though. “I can’t do that, only because I promised my kids,” Clarkson told Entertainment Tonight. “I was like, ‘I wanna be there as much as I possibly can.”
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
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