Kelly Clarkson’s 2020 Las Vegas residency wasn’t invincible to the COVID-19 shutdowns that hampered many musicians’ touring plans. Performances by her grew rarer after that, and with an Emmy-award-winning daytime talk show to keep her busy, rumors of a returning residency were laid to rest—for a moment.
When Clarkson took the stage at Planet Hollywood’s Bakkt Theater on July 28 for opening night of her new limited-engagement run of Chemistry, she arrived with the determination of a woman who came to finish what she’d started.
“I haven’t done a show I feel in 9,000 years,” she said after singing “Favorite Kind of High,” but her range and stagecraft belied any rustiness the American Idol alum might’ve felt.
Die-hard fans of Clarkson’s discography and legend also didn’t appear to mind, as they went verse for verse with her in the sold-out venue. "Keep singing," Clarkson encouraged them. "It's insane what I'm hearing. I have a lot of duet partners tonight."
The singer tossed a curveball mid-way through her set with a cover of Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” the first of several “Kellyokes” the vocal powerhouse promised to infuse into her show to ensure no two nights were the same. But even if that weren’t the case, we'd gladly listen to her belt her way through 20 years’ worth of music without a single distraction.
Chemistry scaled back on the elaborate stage design and pyrotechnics of other engagements in favor of Clarkson’s voice, razored wit and fun-loving personality. At one point, she struggled under the heat of the stage lights, jesting "I'm so ripe right now, Jesus would turn me away.”
Classics like “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” “Miss Independent,” and “Catch My Breath” brought fans to their feet, while “Because of You,” a track Clarkson wrote at 16 about her parent’s divorce, seemed to lance through the excitement, prompting the audience to collectively sit, seemingly out of respect for somber memories resurfacing through song.
When it came time for the airy and uplifting “Breakaway,” Clarkson met music lovers head on, prowling the aisles to shake hands and sing to a swaying crowd. It was all just a warm up for the grand finale, which brought a trinity of Kelly Clarkson bangers—“Miss Independent,” “Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)” and “Since U Been Gone.” The crowd unloaded on the latter’s chorus, dancing in seats, in aisles and among each other.
Clarkson’s initial limited engagement might’ve been derailed, but Chemistry is more than we could have ever asked for from one of America’s most beloved idols.
KELLY CLARKSON: CHEMISTRY August 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12, 18, 19, 8 p.m., $79+, Bakkt Theater, ticketmaster.com.
