Kelly Clarkson‘s star was born a long time ago. In fact, 2025 will mark 23 years since America voted to make Clarkson the very first — and still in many minds the very best — American Idol winner. So even though she had nothing to prove on Thursday (Nov. 14) in the latest Kellyoke segment on her daytime talk show, Clarkson absolutely went for it on a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Always Remember UsThis Way” from A Star Is Born.
“That Arizona sky burnin’ in your eyes/ You look at me and, babe, I wanna catch on fire/ It’s buried in my soul like California gold/ You found the light in me that I couldn’t find,” Clarkson sang, her warm vocals conveying the ballad’s roiling emotion. There was an extra bit of hurt in her voice as she hit the tune’s plaintive refrain, “When the sun goes down/ And the band won’t play/ I’ll always remember us this way.”
And then Clarkson shifted into her second gear, as the band revved up the arrangement and the singer climbed up into a higher register to wail, “Oh yeah, I don’t wanna be just a memory, baby,” gripping the mic stand with both hands as she hit a keening high note that match her guitarist’s spiraling solo.
By the time she hit the second round of the chorus, Clarkson was in full go-for-it mode, climbing up to hit a note somewhere near the exosphere before taking a breath and a dramatic pause as she landed the plane as softly as possible. “When you look at me/ And the whole world fades/ I’ll always remember us this way,” she sang in a near-whisper.
Gaga’s “Always Remember Us This Way,” was written by the singer along with Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey and Lori McKenna and co-produced by Gaga and Dave Cobb. The song appeared on the soundtrack to Gaga’s 2018 A Star Is Born remake and was nominated for a song of the year Grammy.
Watch Clarkson sing “Always Remember Us This Way” below.
