Kelly Clarksonโs setlist ranged from emotional power ballads to high-energy anthems that spanned her more than two-decade career (and included a notable lyric swap in one of her most iconic hits). The powerhouse singer-songwriter kicked off her set wit 2011โs โStronger (What Doesnโt Kill You)โ when she took the T-Mobile Arena stage at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Saturday night (September 23). It all happened after she shared an unforgettable moment with a Las Vegas street performer earlier that day.
Appropriately, the original American Idol champ, crowned during the smash-hit competition showโs inaugural season in 2002, was introduced to the stage by longtime Idol host Ryan Seacrest, along with *NSYNCโs Lance Bass. Clarkson went on to perform her first-ever single that she released after winning the first season of American Idol: โMiss Independent.โ
Earlier this year, Clarkson released her latest full-length record, a powerful 14-track album that she recently shared on the TODAY Showย was โa hard record...to make.โ Chemistry was the first non-holiday album Clarkson released since her divorce. She said, however, she โdidnโt want it to be a divorce album. I wanted it to be a relationship album. It wasnโt all bad, so I wanted to celebrate that as a whole. For the most part, itโs sad. But thatโs how I work through whatโs going on with me, through writing.โ
Two of the Chemistry songs Clarkson performed on the iHeartRadio Music Festival stage were โmineโ and โlighthouse.โ She described the latter to the T-Mobile Arena crowd as her latest single thatโs, โdepressing, so I hate to bring down the party, but sometimes it has to happen,โ before beginning a stunning rendition of the emotional ballad. The album also included nods to joyful parts of a relationship (including โfavorite kind of highโ), and upbeat tracks (like โi hate love,โ featuring Steve Martin).
Clarkson released the deluxe edition of Chemistry on Friday (September 22). The extended project, now 22 tracks, includes a song featuring vocals from her 9-year-old daughter, River Rose. Clarksonโs eldest child joins her superstar mother on โyou donโt make me cry.โ
Clarkson rocked a sleek all-black look โ a long blazer with sky-high boots and lacy accents, complete with shimmering jewelry pieces โ when she took the stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival. She closed her set with one of her most iconic his throughout her career, prompting an epic singalong with the crowd: โSince U Been Gone,โ an empowering anthem that appeared on her 12-track Breakaway album in 2004.
Notably, Clarkson made a lyric swap at the end of โSince U Been Gone,โ singing: โIโm so happy now that youโre gone.โ It's not the first time, however, that the Texas-born megastar has made changes to the lyrics of her songs on stage. Last month, for example, Clarkson put a new spin on โPiece By Pieceโ during her Las Vegas residency, making a few changes to the 2015 ballad following her divorce.
Other artists to take the stage at the two-night, multi-genre iHeartRadio Music Festival this year include Kane Brown,ย Foo Fighters,ย Fall Out Boy,ย Lil Wayne,ย Lenny Kravitz,ย Miguel,ย Public Enemy,ย Sheryl Crow,ย Tim McGraw,ย Thirty Seconds to Mars,ย Travis Scottย and more.
If you missed any of this yearโs iHeartRadio Music Festival, or just want to relive the weekend, you can watch all of the best moments on demand on Hulu from October 10 through October 31.