Ah, Kellyoke — the daily Kelly Clarkson Show music segment that answers a completely rhetorical question asked repeatedly by her fans for years: “Is there anything Kelly Clarkson can’t sing?”
And so far, the answer is a resounding no. From pop to rock to country to oldies, the Grammy winner proves with each new song cover that she can do it all — with the help, of course, from her in-house backup band, Y’all. That goes especially for her lineup of 2022 performances, spanning the second half of her Daytime Emmy-winning talk show’s third season, which wrapped in June, and the first half of its fourth, which premiered in September.
In fact, the O.G. American Idol champion’s daily mini-performances have become so popular since The Kelly Clarkson Show first began in 2019, she released an EP featuring recordings of six Kellyoke-ified songs over the summer. Her standout cover of Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night” (which definitely earned a spot on this list) was one of them, along with Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” The Weeknd’s “Call Out My Name” and more.
Also this year, Clarkson’s Kellyoke tradition became even more special when she embarked on a tour through major U.S. cities in search of a new duet partner, giving fans the chance to show their stuff by singing their own versions of her 2004 hit “Since U Been Gone.” After the #KellyokeSearch concluded in September, she invited the five winners onstage with her for a glorious group performance of The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.”
Keep reading for Billboard‘s favorite Kellyoke performances this year, in chronological order.
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‘I Wanna Get Better’
If you thought Bleachers’ 2014 anthem “I Wanna Get Better” was magnificently raucous and staggeringly inspirational before, just wait until you hear Clarkson sing it. Her endlessly impressive voice took on a life of its own through each of Jack Antonoff’s wordy verses and soaring choruses, almost as if she was meant to have sung the Strange Desire track her whole life.
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‘Judas’
This was a particularly special Kellyoke for diehard Kelly Clarkson fans. The Voice coach sang one of her own songs — a rare occurrence on the show — the 2007 My December deep cut “Judas,” instead of performing a cover, no doubt hitting many right in the feels.
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‘99 Red Balloons’
Her performance of “99 Red Balloons” was powerful for more reasons than her vocal abilities. The cover of Nena’s anti-war anthem came right as conflict began bubbling over in Eastern Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leading many to think that the vocalist was subtly sharing support for those affected by the ensuing violence.
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‘Dancing Queen’
Kelly gave ABBA’s iconic hit “Dancing Queen” the makeover we never knew it needed. Rather than going the expected route of enlisting Y’all for a tambourines-and-all tribute to the 1976 classic, she instead performed it with only a piano backing her up, transforming it into a stunning — and heartbreaking — ballad.
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‘Losing My Mind’
In a word, Kelly’s heart-wrenching acoustic cover of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies ballad “Losing My Mind” is simply “masterful.” The cover was the perfect choice for the episode, which was taped while the show was in New York City, the home of Broadway.
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‘When You Wish Upon a Star’ feat. Cynthia Erivo
When you have Broadway legend and star of Jon M. Chu’s upcoming Wicked film adaptations as a guest on your show, then you sing with her — it’s a no-brainer. Clarkson did exactly that when Cynthia Erivo swung by The Kelly Clarkson Show in September, teaming up with the Pinocchio star for a shimmering, jazz duet of “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
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‘Survivor’
This rock-infused cover of Destiny’s Child’s 2001 hit “Survivor” was a group effort, balanced by Kelly’s smoldering voice, the support of two fiery backup singers and the head-bopping intensity brought by the rest of the band.
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‘Queen of the Night’
If there’s a Kellyoke performance that’s sure to give you chills, it’s probably this one. The “Stronger” singer stepped fully into her power with Whitney Houston’s Bodyguard smash “Queen of the Night.” She revamped the beginning into a haunting, anticipation-building intro and invited an electric guitarist to tear the house down with an epic solo. You just have to see it for yourself:
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‘I Got You Babe’ feat. Jimmy Fallon
Daytime met late night when Kelly and Jimmy Fallon teamed up for a perfectly charming duet of Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe.” The two talk-show hosts were simply adorable throughout the retro-nostalgia performance, even grabbing each other’s hands during the lyric “Then put your little hand in mine/ There ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb.”
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‘9 to 5’ feat. Dolly Parton
It’s no ordinary event when the original artist behind a song joins Kelly for a Kellyoke performance of it, but Dolly Parton is no ordinary artist. A couple months after Kelly and the country music queen recorded their duet version of “9 to 5” for the film Still Working 9 to 5, they sang it live on The Kelly Clarkson Show — and naturally, it was totally epic.