Ten years ago, a young unknown singer from Texas grabbed the hearts of U.S. audiences and won the first-ever season of American Idol, a reality competition series that's become a pop culture phenomenon in the 10 years since its debut. Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger Tour" celebrates the idea that people simply wanting to hear her voice got her to where she is today. Few other winners of American Idol have enjoyed the career rise and longevity that Clarkson has since her season aired, and Tuesday night's sold-out concert at Ruth Eckerd Hall seemed to drive this point home. She is clearly doing something right. [Text by Valerie, photos by Tracy.]
Folk rock singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson kicked off the evening with catchy toe tappin' tunes. The charming crooner strummed his acoustic guitar and delivered impassioned and soulful vocals, giving off a carefree laidback vibe with his casual style — plain tee-shirt, skinny jeans, brown loafers, and a scruffy beard to complete the look. In between songs, Nathanson shared quirky anecdotes that entertained and prompted laughter throughout his set.
Nathanson introduced the title track off his latest, Modern Love, explaining, "I wrote it about a friend of mine who's single. Who's convinced that all of the good men are either taken, gay or involved with other good men." For "Under The Sea," the album's last track, Nathanson said he drew inspiration from a "perverted Disney song" where a Jamaican crab sings, "darling it's better down where it's wetter." His sense of humor and upbeat attitude engaged the crowd as he closed out his performance with his two mainstream hits, "Faster" and "Come On Get Higher."
Fans promptly cleared out, rushing to grab one more cocktail, or to break the seal from the effects of said cocktails, or to take a smoke break before Clarkson hit the stage. The remaining concert goers jammed out to AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" as it blared over the loud speakers during setbreak, holding their drinks in the air — for a minute there, it felt like I was at the wrong show.
But soon enough, the lights dimmed and images began projecting onto the curtains of the stage. Newspapers floated across the drapes with headlines that read "Make-up Mishap for Kelly," "29 and Still Single?" "Kelly Clarkson is Fat." The word "fat" took over the screen with bold red letters followed by the word "failure." Clarkson vocals drifted through the room, singing "Dark Side" off her latest album, Stronger. The song starts out with airy vocals and a light drum-beat that slowly escalates to the chorus, at which point the curtains dropped and revealed Clarkson joined by her full band pumping up the tempo.
She dived right into her hits, such as girl power anthem "Since U Been Gone" and the equally empowering "Behind These Hazel Eyes," both from 2004's Breakaway. These songs are about both breaking free from a troubling relationship and becoming a stronger person because of it. I'm seeing a common theme here.
Clarkson got her start in the music industry singing cover songs, and she made sure to include a few in the set. Florence and the Machine's "Heavy" complemented Clarkson's voice perfectly and changed the mood of the room dramatically. Each night of the tour, Clarkson has performed a different fan-requested cover from submissions collected via her website. This night's choice: Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." She also tackled "I Know You Won't" by season four American Idol winner Carrie Underwood, and discussed how she admired Underwood's performance of this song at the iHeartRadio Music Festival they played together last year in Las Vegas.
About midway through the show, as Clarkson was introducing another song, someone in the crowd shouted "Kelly Clarkson" in the same infamous tone that Steve Carrell's character shrieks during his chest waxing in the film, 40-Year-Old Virgin. Clarkson commented on how everyone told her it was a compliment, though she admitted to being a bit unsettled that her name was the first thing he thought of when he was in pain. Clarkson also paid homage to her first album, 2003's Thankful, with an intimate medley of its songs that included "The Trouble With Love Is," "Walk Away," "How I Feel," and "I Want You."
As she exited the stage, the curtain dropped once again. A massive hologram of country artist Jason Aldean appeared, and Clarkson's vocals joined his virtual ones for their duet, "Don't You Wanna Stay."
For her encore, Clarkson performed a stripped-down piano-driven version of "Never Again," which is usually a pretty rockin' track. This slower raw performance was much more powerful, Clarkson belting out the lyrics "never again will I love you" and hitting those high notes so perfectly it gave me chills. She finished out the show with her spunky chart topper "Miss Independent" off Thankful.
Clarkson has found success with well-crafted relatable pop songs culled right from the diary pages of her life. I appreciate her down-to-earth outlook on the music business. She doesn't fall prey to the Hollywood lifestyle and I respect her for that. Plus, the girl can sing.
Setlist:
Dark Side
Behind These Hazel Eyes
Since U Been Gone
You Love Me
Heavy in Your Arms (Florence and the Machine cover)
Hit Me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar cover)
Medley – The Trouble With Love Is / Walk Away / How I Feel / I Want You
I Know You Won't (Carrie Underwood cover)
Don't You Wanna Stay
Already Gone
Breakaway
You Still Won't Know
Stronger
My Life Would Suck Without You
Encore:
Never Again (Stripped down version)
Because of You
Mr. Know it All
Miss Independent
This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.