Kelly Clarkson brings down the house at Salt Lake City show
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson performs Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on her "Meaning of Life" tour.
Kelly Clarkson started things off on a nostalgic note at her “Meaning of Life” Utah tour stop Wednesday night.
As she took the stage at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City singing an a cappella version of “A Moment Like This,” I couldn’t help but think back to her emotional performance of the song after becoming the first-ever winner of “American Idol.”
It’s incredible to think that 16 years later, Clarkson has released eight studio albums, sold more than 45 million singles and won three Grammy Awards.
Salt Lake City was the fourth stop on Clarkson’s “Meaning of Life” tour, which the singer told the crowd is her first tour in three years.
“I made some babies and I got a talk show, if that’s cool,” Clarkson said of the three-year break.
Clarkson said she was having a hard time breathing because of the difference in the air due to Utah’s high altitude, but fans could hardy tell, judging by the amazing sound of each powerful note Clarkson belted out.
“It’s good though. It’s good up here. I think it’s better for your lungs. It makes you work harder,” Clarkson said. “I love it here. … Landing here today was so beautiful. You live in such a postcard, magical place. It’s so beautiful.”
During the concert, Clarkson sang a mixture of her greatest hits and songs from her latest album, “Meaning of Life,” released in 2017. A few of my favorites among the sass and emotion-infused set included “Walk Away,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” “Breakaway,” “Because of You” and “My Life Would Suck Without You.”
Clarkson sang an emotional rendition of “Piece by Piece,” telling the story behind the song as she introduced it. She said she wrote the song when she was pregnant with her daughter and had just had a conversation with her sister about how they couldn’t believe they ended up with such great men.
“The cycle of life can kind of be rough sometimes, and we have this really low bar for friendships, relationships, everything,” Clarkson said. “This song, I guess the point for me was for myself just to say, ‘You’re worthy of more than you think you deserve,’ and I think that I wanted everybody else to hear that in the song as well.”
Clarkson took a break about halfway through the concert for a segment she recorded for Facebook titled “Minute and a Glass of Wine,” which gave the crowd a taste of her new, upcoming NBC talk show, “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
During the segment, Clarkson sipped a glass of wine as she made small talk about movie remakes, etc. Clarkson was very personable onstage and kept the audience laughing. She then performed a tasteful cover of Khalid and Normani’s “Love Lies” before inviting Utah’s LeBaron Family, known for their viral video performance of “One Day More,” to sing the number from “Les Misérables” onstage. Clarkson called the family “crazy talented.”
“I think we need to study your DNA, people,” Clarkson said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more blessed group of individuals that’s a family.”
D.R. King of NBC’s “The Voice” then joined Clarkson onstage to sing John Legend's part in her duet “Run Run Run.”
“I love being on ‘The Voice,’ ” Clarkson said of being a judge on the show. “It’s just kind of a really cool pay-it-forward moment for me too because that’s how I got my break is on a show like that, and it’s just the talent that comes on that show is incredible and it’s just a really cool thing to be a part of.”
“The Voice” stars Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini, who opened the concert, also performed with Clarkson in a fiery rendition of “Miss Independent” that brought the first section of the concert to a thrilling close before the encore.
Clarkson’s love for musical theater showed in the four-song encore, which began with “It’s Quiet Uptown” from “Hamilton” and “Never Enough” from “The Greatest Showman.”
The show then came to an exhilarating end with Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” and “Since U Been Gone,” leaving fans singing their way out of the venue.
Kelly Clarkson
Vivint Smart Home Arena
Jan. 30, 2019
A Moment Like This
Meaning of Life
Walk Away
Love So Soft
Whole Lotta Woman
Behind These Hazel Eyes
Breakaway
Piece by Piece
Album Medley (Because of You/Just Missed the Train/Beautiful Disaster/Sober/Good Goes the Bye/Would You Call That Love)
Minute and a Glass of Wine
Love Lies (Khalid and Normani cover)
One Day More (LeBaron Family)
Run Run Run (with D.R. King)
Move You
My Life Would Suck Without You
Heat
Heartbeat Song
Miss Independent (with Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini)
Encore
It’s Quiet Uptown (“Hamilton” cover)
Never Enough (“The Greatest Showman” cover)
Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)
Since U Been Gone
Singer-songwriters Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini kicked off the concert with strong opening sets, complementing the girl power vocal vibe of Kelly Clarkson’s music. All three acts have ties to NBC’s “The Voice” — Cartelli as a contestant and winner of Season 14, Ballerini as a coach and Clarkson as a judge.