Kelly Clarkson Brings Out Famous Friends in Los Angeles

Kelly Clarkson performs during her Stronger Tour at the Nokia Theatre L.A. in Los Angeles.

"I feel so popular right now!" said Kelly Clarkson last night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles – and beyond the capacity crowd, it wasn't hard to see why. Playing one of the final dates of her current North American tour, Clarkson peppered the nearly two-hour show with surprise cameos by several high-wattage pals, including Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton, the latter of whom joined her for a rendition of Clarkson and Jason Aldean's pop-country power ballad, "Don't You Wanna Stay." Michelle Branch and fellow American Idol alum Tamyra Gray also appeared. "It's L.A., y'all," Clarkson explained at one point. "I got a lot of friends here."

The guest stars inspired big audience reactions, but Clarkson hardly needed the help as she ran through hit after hit from her five studio albums: "Since U Been Gone," remade as a sleek dance-punk jam; "Already Gone," with close-harmony backing vocals from her eight-piece band; a fiercely propulsive "My Life Would Suck Without You"; "Mr. Know It All," which she introduced by asking if anyone in the house had ever "dated a tool" before. ("I dated maybe the biggest douche in L.A.," she added.) After a stripped-down "Never Again," from 2007's gloomy My December, the singer offered a warning to all future boyfriends: "Never piss me off – I'll write some shit."  

In addition to "Mr. Know It All," Clarkson sang a handful of tunes from last year's Stronger, which she called her favorite of all her records. "Einstein" was a laidback folk-soul tune, while "You Love Me" had an appealing Eighties-R&B vibe; later, the album's chart-topping title track blasted the room with strobing disco synths. Clarkson did several covers as well, including "Heavy in Your Arms" by Florence and the Machine and a gospel-fired take on Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends." She and Gray revived "When You Believe," the 1998 Mariah Carey-Whitney Houston duet from The Prince of Egypt, and Clarkson summoned more dueling-divas energy with McEntire during "Because of You."  

Toward the end of the show she reached back to the Disney-princess pop of her first big solo smash, "Breakaway," telling the crowd the song was "where people started really getting behind me and supporting my career." Nearly a decade later, as last night's parade of stars demonstrated, that career has grown exponentially. But somehow Clarkson retains an essential one-of-us quality. She still can't believe she's the popular girl.

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Kelly Clarkson Brings Out Famous Friends in Los Angeles

Kelly Clarkson performs during her Stronger Tour at the Nokia Theatre L.A. in Los Angeles.

"I feel so popular right now!" said Kelly Clarkson last night at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles – and beyond the capacity crowd, it wasn't hard to see why. Playing one of the final dates of her current North American tour, Clarkson peppered the nearly two-hour show with surprise cameos by several high-wattage pals, including Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton, the latter of whom joined her for a rendition of Clarkson and Jason Aldean's pop-country power ballad, "Don't You Wanna Stay." Michelle Branch and fellow American Idol alum Tamyra Gray also appeared. "It's L.A., y'all," Clarkson explained at one point. "I got a lot of friends here."

The guest stars inspired big audience reactions, but Clarkson hardly needed the help as she ran through hit after hit from her five studio albums: "Since U Been Gone," remade as a sleek dance-punk jam; "Already Gone," with close-harmony backing vocals from her eight-piece band; a fiercely propulsive "My Life Would Suck Without You"; "Mr. Know It All," which she introduced by asking if anyone in the house had ever "dated a tool" before. ("I dated maybe the biggest douche in L.A.," she added.) After a stripped-down "Never Again," from 2007's gloomy My December, the singer offered a warning to all future boyfriends: "Never piss me off – I'll write some shit."  

In addition to "Mr. Know It All," Clarkson sang a handful of tunes from last year's Stronger, which she called her favorite of all her records. "Einstein" was a laidback folk-soul tune, while "You Love Me" had an appealing Eighties-R&B vibe; later, the album's chart-topping title track blasted the room with strobing disco synths. Clarkson did several covers as well, including "Heavy in Your Arms" by Florence and the Machine and a gospel-fired take on Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends." She and Gray revived "When You Believe," the 1998 Mariah Carey-Whitney Houston duet from The Prince of Egypt, and Clarkson summoned more dueling-divas energy with McEntire during "Because of You."  

Toward the end of the show she reached back to the Disney-princess pop of her first big solo smash, "Breakaway," telling the crowd the song was "where people started really getting behind me and supporting my career." Nearly a decade later, as last night's parade of stars demonstrated, that career has grown exponentially. But somehow Clarkson retains an essential one-of-us quality. She still can't believe she's the popular girl.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Kelly Clarkson and Lionel Richie to Star in 'Duets'

Kelly Clarkson and Lionel Richie to star in 'Duets'Jeff Neira/Katherine Bomboy-Thornton/ABC

Kelly Clarkson, Lionel Richie, Robin Thicke and Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles will star in Duets, a new singing competition show for ABC. The show, which is set to air this summer, will have the celebrity vocalists searching for undiscovered talent, and each will choose two duet partners for weekly performances. At the end of the season, one winner will get a recording contract with Hollywood Records.

Duets is the latest in what is becoming a very crowded market for televised singing competitions. In addition to American Idol, The Voice and The X Factor, Jennifer Lopez's Latin American talent search Q'Viva is coming to Fox, and the CW is about to launch The Star Next Door with Gloria Estefan and John Rich.

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Kelly Clarkson and Lionel Richie to Star in 'Duets'

Kelly Clarkson and Lionel Richie to star in 'Duets'Jeff Neira/Katherine Bomboy-Thornton/ABC

Kelly Clarkson, Lionel Richie, Robin Thicke and Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles will star in Duets, a new singing competition show for ABC. The show, which is set to air this summer, will have the celebrity vocalists searching for undiscovered talent, and each will choose two duet partners for weekly performances. At the end of the season, one winner will get a recording contract with Hollywood Records.

Duets is the latest in what is becoming a very crowded market for televised singing competitions. In addition to American Idol, The Voice and The X Factor, Jennifer Lopez's Latin American talent search Q'Viva is coming to Fox, and the CW is about to launch The Star Next Door with Gloria Estefan and John Rich.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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On the Charts: Kelly Clarkson Starts the Slow Burn

Kelly Clarkson performs at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Kelly Clarkson. Her people pulled all the right levers over the past month and a half to launch "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" to the top of this week's Billboard digital songs chart, where it sold 225,000 copies – and hit Number One on iTunes, overtaking even Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." Clarkson performed it just before Christmas on VH1 Divas and early this year on Saturday Night Live, then sold it for $0.99 at Amazon's MP3 Store, helping to rack up 4 million YouTube views in the process. The single doesn't have quite the rocking-out resonance of such Clarkson hits as "Since U Been Gone" and "My Life Would Suck Without You," but it's catchy and memorable and has a certain survivor mentality that's kind of perfect for the times. Clarkson never quite explodes onto the charts, but she's a master of the long, slow burn.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Guess you all got tired of Jason Mraz in a hurry. In just its third week on the charts, the singer-songwriter's sentimental "I Won't Give Up" dropped from Number Eight on Billboard's Hot 100 to Number 72 – as well as 50 slots, from Number Two to Number 52, on the Ultimate Chart, which measures Internet criteria like YouTube views and Facebook likes. Why the steep drop? Maybe it's because the pop competition finally emerged from holiday hibernation, compared to the barren early-January period, when "I Won't Give Up" was the only hit in town. Or maybe it's this. Either way, it's not the ideal run-up to releasing an album, which Mraz plans to do in the first half of this year.

A GOLDEN AGE FOR ASS SONGS?: It takes three examples to make a trend, so watch this space when the news breaks that a third song with the word "ass" in the title starts running up the charts. We promise it'll be any day now. First, Big Sean's "Dance (A$$)," with Nicki Minaj's memorable presence, cynically galloped to a peak of Number 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. Then came Gym Class Heroes' "Ass Back Home" (as in "Get Your . . . "), which jumped 15 slots, to Number 23, on the recent Ultimate Chart. That's in part due to the video, co-starring the striking, red-haired, nose-ringed singer Neon Hitch – it's up to 5.4 million YouTube views and Number 24 on the Hot 100.

LAST WEEK: The Black Keys and Coldplay Prove Rock's Staying Power

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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On the Charts: Kelly Clarkson Starts the Slow Burn

Kelly Clarkson performs at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

WINNER OF THE WEEK: Kelly Clarkson. Her people pulled all the right levers over the past month and a half to launch "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" to the top of this week's Billboard digital songs chart, where it sold 225,000 copies – and hit Number One on iTunes, overtaking even Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." Clarkson performed it just before Christmas on VH1 Divas and early this year on Saturday Night Live, then sold it for $0.99 at Amazon's MP3 Store, helping to rack up 4 million YouTube views in the process. The single doesn't have quite the rocking-out resonance of such Clarkson hits as "Since U Been Gone" and "My Life Would Suck Without You," but it's catchy and memorable and has a certain survivor mentality that's kind of perfect for the times. Clarkson never quite explodes onto the charts, but she's a master of the long, slow burn.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Guess you all got tired of Jason Mraz in a hurry. In just its third week on the charts, the singer-songwriter's sentimental "I Won't Give Up" dropped from Number Eight on Billboard's Hot 100 to Number 72 – as well as 50 slots, from Number Two to Number 52, on the Ultimate Chart, which measures Internet criteria like YouTube views and Facebook likes. Why the steep drop? Maybe it's because the pop competition finally emerged from holiday hibernation, compared to the barren early-January period, when "I Won't Give Up" was the only hit in town. Or maybe it's this. Either way, it's not the ideal run-up to releasing an album, which Mraz plans to do in the first half of this year.

A GOLDEN AGE FOR ASS SONGS?: It takes three examples to make a trend, so watch this space when the news breaks that a third song with the word "ass" in the title starts running up the charts. We promise it'll be any day now. First, Big Sean's "Dance (A$$)," with Nicki Minaj's memorable presence, cynically galloped to a peak of Number 10 on Billboard's Hot 100. Then came Gym Class Heroes' "Ass Back Home" (as in "Get Your . . . "), which jumped 15 slots, to Number 23, on the recent Ultimate Chart. That's in part due to the video, co-starring the striking, red-haired, nose-ringed singer Neon Hitch – it's up to 5.4 million YouTube views and Number 24 on the Hot 100.

LAST WEEK: The Black Keys and Coldplay Prove Rock's Staying Power

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »

Kelly Clarkson to Sing National Anthem at Super Bowl XLVI

Kelly Clarkson performs during the Allstate Fan Fest at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in the Jax Brewery Parking Lot in New Orleans.

Kelly Clarkson will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl on February 5th at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Though Clarkon's appearance has not been formally announced, a person close to the event has confirmed the booking with the Associated Press.

Clarkson will join a slate of musical performers for this year's Super Bowl including Madonna, who will perform during halftime with guests M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj, and Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, who will sing "America the Beautiful" as a duet.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Kelly Clarkson to Sing National Anthem at Super Bowl XLVI

Kelly Clarkson performs during the Allstate Fan Fest at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in the Jax Brewery Parking Lot in New Orleans.

Kelly Clarkson will sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl on February 5th at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Though Clarkon's appearance has not been formally announced, a person close to the event has confirmed the booking with the Associated Press.

Clarkson will join a slate of musical performers for this year's Super Bowl including Madonna, who will perform during halftime with guests M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj, and Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, who will sing "America the Beautiful" as a duet.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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