Hold the caffeine, Kelly Clarkson is wide awake. On the latest episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the three-time Grammy winner shared a breathtaking cover of Katy Perry‘s 2012 smash, “Wide Awake,” stripping it back to feature just piano and vocals.
Taking the Kellyoke stage with her pianist Tuesday (March 19), Clarkson went without her usual full band to let her unreal voice shine even more than usual. The musician also slightly slowed down Perry’s track, which allowed the “Stronger” singer to stretch out certain lines and add her own impressive high notes.
“Falling from cloud nine,” belted Clarkson, dressed in a grey skirt and black, knee-high boots. “Crashing from the high/ I’m letting go tonight.”
Released as the final single from Perry’s Teenage Dream album cycle, “Wide Awake” appeared on the set’s 2012 deluxe reissue, Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection. It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year, remaining on the chart for a total of 26 weeks.
Clarkson has previously covered Perry’s “The One That Got Away” and “Roar” on her Daytime Emmy-winning talk show. Earlier this week, she put her own spin on Maren Morris’ “The Bones.”
The Voice alum’s new performance comes just over a week after she filed a new lawsuit against her ex-husband, music executive Brandon Blackstock, alleging that he and his father’s management firm had been violating state labor rules since the beginning of their relationship. With the suit — which comes just months after she won $2.6 million from him in a previous ruling — Clarkson seeks the return of “any and all commissions, fees, profits, advances, producing fees or other monies” she paid to Blackstock’s father’s company, Starstruck Entertainment, dating back to 2007.
In June, Clarkson released her tenth studio album, Chemistry. The 14-track set, which featured collaborations from Steve Martin and Sheila E., peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Watch Clarkson cover “Wide Awake” above.
