Kelly Clarkson opened the Wednesday (Jan. 12) episode of her eponymous talk show with a powerful rendition of Alanis Morissette‘s “Hands Clean.”
Wearing a black dress stamped with brightly colored appliqué stars, The Kelly Clarkson Show host stayed faithful to the original composition of the 2002 single, starting off over sparse piano before bringing the full band in at the first chorus.
“Ooh, don’t go telling everybody/ And overlook this supposed crime/ We’ll fast forward to a few years later/ And no one knows except the both of us/ I’ve more than honored your request for silence/ And you’ve washed your hands clean of this/ What part of our history’s reinvented and under rug swept?/ What part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?/ What with this distance it seems so obvious,” she wailed, effortlessly juggling tempos before transitioning into the track’s searching bridge.
“Hands Clean” is from Morissette’s fifth studio album, 2002’s Under Rug Swept, and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Following her cover, Clarkson welcomed Josh Gad to the stage to chat about his upcoming series Wolf Like Me, which premieres Thursday on Peacock, and to spill the secret to remembering all his lyrics while starring in the original production of Broadway’s Book of Mormon.
In her most recent “Kellyoke” numbers, the “Christmas Isn’t Canceled (Just You)” singer has also covered Prince‘s “Kiss,” Sharon Van Etten‘s “The End of the World,” “She Used to Be Mine” from Broadway’s Waitress, Rod Stewart‘s “Forever Young,” “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins, and more.
In November, Clarkson tackled Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” in a head-to-head mixtape medley karaoke battle with Ariana Grande during the premiere of the new NBC game show That’s My Jam.
Meanwhile Morissette’s Broadway jukebox musical Jagged Little Pill announced just before Christmas that it would be permanently closing due to the ongoing omicron surge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Watch Kelly deliver her take on Alanis’ 2002 hit below.
