Kelly Clarkson
Courtesy ImageKelly Clarkson took a left turn on Thursday's (Oct. 28) Kelly Clarkson Show, covering Radiohead's "Karma Police" for her Kellyoke segment.
In her rendition, Clarkson transforms the haunting and ambient OK Computer single into a captivating ballad, demonstrating her powerful belt and uncanny ability to personalize the alternative rock anthem. Clarkson gives the evocative line "I lost myself" newfound meaning, adding angst to Radiohead's cathartic pleas.
Dressed in a black leather dress with a decorative golden center, Clarkson ended the performance with her signature wailing high note.
American Idol was surely excellent practice for Clarkson, who is no stranger to an expertly delivered cover. Previous Kellyoke performances include songs from artists like Ike and Tina Turner, Depeche Mode, Coldplay and many new and explorative genre-benders for the "Since U Been Gone" singer.
Fans shared their reactions to the new cover on Twitter using the hashtag "Kellyoke," sharing major appreciation for the singer's range and talent.
You can watch Kelly Clarkson's cover of "Karma Police" by Radiohead and listen to the original 1997 track below.
Reneé Rapp is seen as a “huge inspiration” by SZA.
The 25-year-old artist performed SZA’s Good Days in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, accompanied by two acoustic guitarists and a harp player. SZA, 35, was deeply moved by the rendition.
She posted a short video of the moment on Instagram Stories and wrote: “Renee is a HUGE inspiration, energy, voice spirit.”
During her chat with the BBC, Renee shared her thoughts about the track. She said: “I mean, I love SZA. I mean, she was one of my favorite artists in high school. And she's remained one of my favorite artists to this day. I think she's amazing. She's also, I mean, she's an incredible songwriter, but I think because she has so much swag. People don't realize how good of a singer she is. She's a fantastic vocalist and is really, really, really articulate. And I don't cover a lot of songs anymore. So I wanted to cover something that was, like, slightly challenging and also really vocally impressive, and frankly, hard for me to do.”
Renee is currently in the middle of promoting her second album, Bite Me, and opened up about how much more enjoyable it was to create compared to her first project.
She explained: “I mean, I feel like everything was incredibly different. I stopped listening to people that don't make music, because if you don't make music, then why the hell am I listening to you. And I also think the biggest difference, I think I just got a lot better. I think I have just become a better songwriter. I think I understand how to make pop music now in a way that I didn't really before. And I was very sure about what this album was and thematically, what it needed.
“So I felt like I was quite like, headstrong in like, what was gonna work and what wasn't. Because, nobody knows something better than yourself. I think a lot of things were different. I also just, like, had a lot of fun making it, like, I made it with like, three people, mostly, like, it was always like, four of us in the studio all the time, and we got so close, and some of us were already so close. So it was also just like a mess. It was such a mess, like we were just tweaking every day. It was so fun. And I don't think I enjoyed making the first one as much.”