Remember the old adage, "some things never change?" Well, it fits perfectly on Kelly Clarkson's musical journey. The singer-cum-actor started her career by covering Aretha Franklin's signature song Respect on the inaugural season of American Idol in 2002. Since then, she has covered an endless number of tunes (a technique she fondly calls Kellyoke's) on the Kelly Clarkson Show. However, even the queen of covers is afraid of singing one particularly popular Spanish song.
On April 5, 2021, Kelly Clarkson admitted that she's scared of covering Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's Despacito. Join us as we unravel the mystery behind the singer's fear.
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Hidden Jams | Kelly Clarkson, the queen of covers, says she’s apprehensive of covering Despacito
Kelly Clarkson's strange fear
The Voice coach, Clarkson, enlisted Luis Fonsi as her team's advisor for guiding her singers in the current battle rounds on the show. While spending some time with her team and Fonsi backstage, Clarkson confessed to Fonsi that Despacito was the only song in history she’s afraid of covering.
Naturally, Fonsi was surprised to hear this, and as an obvious response, he urged Clarkson to sing it. However, she politely dismissed his request, but not without stating her reasons. Opening up about her love for singing in different languages, the 38-year-old singer said she practiced Despacito several times. But the fact that it's the biggest song of all time makes her nervous while covering it. Moreover, imitating a singer like Fonsi is a huge responsibility in itself, and that's why Clarkson worries every time she's asked to cover that song.
Coxinhanerd | She says the song’s success and the responsibility of imitating a singer like Fonsi makes her nervous
Frankly, anybody would have thought twice before covering Despacito, considering its public appeal. The bilingual remix of the song, which featured Justin Bieber, lasted 16 weeks at the first position on Billboard Hot 100. It matched the previous record of One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men by staying at the top position for the longest time. However, that position was taken by Lil Nas X's Old Town Road featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. The song stayed at the first position on the Billboard Hot 100 for nineteen weeks.
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What Clarkson’s upcoming album looks like
Clarkson will soon release her ninth studio album, which revolves around her divorce from ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock. In June 2020, Clarkson had filed for divorce after seven years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. In September 2020, she appeared on Sunday Today With Willie Geist, where she revealed that her ninth album would be the most personal one. Calling the record therapeutic, Clarkson said it talks about every emotion experienced from the beginning of a relationship to its current state.
Cheatsheet | The singer’s upcoming ninth studio album revolves around her divorce from Brandon Blackstock
In November 2020, the court had authorized Clarkson and Blackstock's divorce after which she moved on to judge the twentieth season of The Voice. During the promotions of the show, Clarkson revealed she had written almost sixty songs post-filing for divorce. Though the Stronger singer didn't specify the date of the ninth album's release, we think it would come out in the summer or fall of 2021.
