Kelly Clarkson is still standing, y’all. On Tuesday (June 14), the singer opened her eponymous talk show with a cover of the Elton John classic “I’m Still Standing.”
“You could never know what it’s like/ Your blood, like winter, freezes just like ice/ And there’s a cold, lonely light that shines from you/ You’ll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use/ And did you think this fool could never win?/ Well look at me, I’m a-coming back again/ I got a taste of love in a simple way/ And if you need to know while I’m still standing/ You just fade away,” she sang over bright horns before launching into Sir Elton’s happy-go-lucky chorus on the 1983 hit.
This isn’t the first time that Clarkson performed a track by Elton John during the show — last month, she gave John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart” (PNAU Remix) a spin while opening the May 3 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. As for “I’m Still Standing,” the track was released as the second single from John’s Too Low for Zero album and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983.
Following her performance of “Standing,” the American Idol winner got the chance to interview Faith Hill about the country star’s role in the upcoming Yellowstone spinoff 1883 on Paramount+ and reminisce about the night they met backstage at a Shania Twain show with Reba McEntire.
Other recent “Kellyoke” standouts have included “Stop Dragging My Heart Around” by Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks, “Save Your Tears” by The Weeknd and Ariana Grande and George Michael’s “Careless Whisper.”
Clarkson additionally released her very first Kellyoke EP as well, with the six-track project featuring studio recordings of some of her favorite “Kellyoke” moments of all time, like lead single Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” Linda Rondstadt’s “Blue Bayou,” Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night” and “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead.
Check out Clarkson’s cover of “I’m Still Standing” below.
