Kelly Clarkson Performs Chilling Emotional Song On Idol And Keith Urban Can't Help But Break Down

Jul 07, 2021 by apost team

Kelly Clarkson is known for her ability to bring a level of emotion and genuine passion to a song that not many singers can match. Her incredible musical talent is matched equally by her grace and elegance on stage.

She has a truly empowering presence when she takes the microphone. Her ability to use the power of her voice to bring a crowd to their feet is simply an amazing thing to watch.

Back in 2016, her performance on the American Idol stage moved all the judges, but Keith Urban’s reaction was the one that really caught the attention of everyone. Read on to find out how he reacted to Clarkson’s live performance of her song, Piece by Piece.

The OG American Idol

Kelly Clarkson catapulted to fame more than 12 years ago when she made her debut on American Idol’s first season in 2002. She was a humble 20-year-old cocktail waitress from Texas who had a dream to sing, according to History.com. And thanks to Clarkson's talent, she won, making her the first American Idol winner ever. The win accelerated the young singer's career, providing her with a recording contract. Since then, Clarkson has sold millions of albums, has earned dozens of awards, and has founded her own television show.

She returned for the show’s season back in 2016 to stand center stage and sing one of her own songs. From the moment she stepped onto the stage, eight months pregnant with her son Remington Blackstock and all, she immediately captured the entire audience.

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Anyone who listens to Clarkson’s singing will be enraptured

A type of electricity spread over the crowd as they waited with cheerful hopes to hear her renowned voice.

Keith Urban, judging the singing competition, couldn’t hold back the tears as Clarkson performed her emotional song. The emotions he was feeling were clear from his expression and absolute enthrallment with her song. Her song, Piece by Piece was written by Clarkson, and based on her own personal experience, Urban told Entertainment Tonight.

Urban describes Clarkson as not only being the original American Idol but also a phenomenal singer. “She is super real,” Urban said to Entertainment Tonight of Clarkson as a guest judge of that season of the singing competition. “She doesn’t have two different personalities. She is just that. And it is just so refreshing to be around that and to see that.”

Clarkson co-wrote the song with Greg Kurstin. It was all too clear that the song wasn’t just simply based on her experiences, it was extremely personal and filled with raw emotion for Clarkson.

According to Huff Post, Clarkson wrote the song while having a conversation with her sister. The women had been discussing how supportive their husbands are to them, and that the song juxtaposed their father who had abandoned Clarkson and her family when she was just six years old, following a divorce from their mom. Clarkson’s relationship with her now ex-husband Brandon Blakcstock restored "faith that a man can be kind and a father could stay,” as per the song’s lyrics.

Just minutes into her performance, Clarkson did something that took both the judges and the audience by surprise. She became overwhelmed with emotion and fought back tears while singing the incredibly powerful lyrics.

For a brief moment, she struggled to continue on with the song, showing incredible genuine emotion that is so rarely seen in on-stage performances from music superstars like Clarkson.

Aside from her incredible talent, Clarkson is also known for the incredible and near-immediate bond she forms with audiences who hear her sing live. The power and passion she puts into every performance resonate very deeply with her fans.

When she had to pause because she became overwhelmed during her performance, the audience was right there to get up on their feet and cheer for her.

The audience began to chant, “Kelly! Kelly! Kelly!” in a united effort to encourage her to keep singing. She finished the song with roaring applause from the audience and a moving thank you from Urban and the other judges.

“I mean, the song… it’s insane,” Urban told Entertainment Tonight in the same interview. “I mean, you are either crying at this performance or you need to check your pulse because it is an amazing song.”

Viewers of her performance shared the same sentiments with Urban. “Kelly is an American Idol for many reasons. This is one of them,” one viewer commented. “The performance was just Kelly and a piano accompaniment so you could feel the emotions with every single lyric she sang.  Her facial expressions also told the story, and she continued that stage presence throughout the entire song.  There wasn't a dry eye in the house.”

Urban added that he was so grateful to be there to witness Clarkson’s performance. “Separate to her incredible gift as a singer and the song and the performance, the humanity in that moment was just… well, you never see that. Let alone on television,” he said.

In June 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock. A source close to the couple spoke to Entertainment Tonight and explained that quarantine may have been the final deal-breaker in their marriage. The source said that the couple "had been having problems for several months and were making a conscious effort to work things out. They both hoped quarantining away from Los Angeles in Montana would help them work things out in their marriage, but instead the change in environment was actually detrimental." Furthermore, they added that spending so much time together is what made their situation worse in the end. 

In December 2020, Vanity Fair reported that although the two are separated, the divorce between Clarkson and Blackstock has not been finalized. Blackstock is also requesting $5 million a year in child and spousal support from Clarkson, although Clarkson won full custody of their children, River, six, and Remington, four.

Isn’t it incredible when you see a performer or artist and know they are doing exactly what they are meant to do? Have you ever been so moved by an artist’s performance that it brought you to tears? Let us know your story of how you’ve been moved by a performance or particular artist.