‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through TV
Kelly Clarkson was sleigh-ing on Kellyoke
All the carols were sung by Ms. Clarkson with flair
With hopes that Daytime Emmys soon would be there
Clarkson has been showering viewers with Christmas cheer for the past week or so in the form of some perfectly jolly Kellyokes. Considering that Clarkson is one of the few artists post-Mariah to release an original Christmas song that approaches beloved-holiday-classic levels, only a Scrooge would be surprised at this seasonal Kellyoke development. We’ve amassed all of her Christmas Kellyokes so far, and we’ll keep adding them as they come in, so you can make a perfect, wall-to-wall Kelly Christmas playlist.
She kicked things off last week with a rockin’ rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run.” This is such a perfect match of song to artist that I want to personally send her music director a Christmas card.
By the next episode, the house band was in matching onesies and Kelly’s backup vocalists had Who-from-Whoville prosthetic noses for Bobby Helms’s “Jingle Bell Rock,” as requested by the Grinch himself. This Kellyoke comes packed with a twist ending as she Kelly-fies the song and belts that last note as an E6! Watch out Elsa, Kelly’s coming for your snow kingdom.
Now the band is in suits and Santa hats and Kelly does an excellent tribute to Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Somebody get Darlene on this show ASAP.
Some of us would argue that “My Favorite Things” isn’t really a Christmas song. Sure, it mentions winter and mittens, but it also mentions raindrops and bees. Bees! Bees are not Christmas! Kelly clearly agrees on some level, because suddenly the house band isn’t wearing anything Christmasy at all. If you want to take a show tune out of context and turn it into a holiday standard, there’s always “We Need a Little Christmas” from Mame. No one’s stopping you!
And now back to the holiday spirit: The band is in Christmas sweaters and Kelly’s backed by a children’s choir to sing her own song, “Christmas Eve.” The snow is falling, the children are talented, and Kelly’s glowing.
I’m impressed by the sheer variety of coordinated Christmas outfits The Kelly Clarkson Show comes up with to dress the band. Here, they’re making an homage to Ben Stiller and his sons in The Royal Tenenbaums matching red tracksuits, and Kelly’s singing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee.
The 21st century has been somewhat lacking in Christmas classics. There’s “Where Are You Christmas,” written by Mariah Carey and ceded to Faith Hill for the 2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas soundtrack. There’s “Believe” by Josh Groban, which is the only good thing about The Polar Express. And there is “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson, which has become a delightful Christmas radio staple since its 2013 release. It’s even better in Kellyoke form. Merry Christmas Kellyokeve!
