I’ve been a huge fan of Kelly Clarkson’s for close to 20 years. Can you believe that her season of American Idol was almost that long ago? Insane.
Kelly, 36, has done an incredible job at staying relevant amid a sea of artists from yesteryear who have fallen off the grid. She’s done this by putting out consistent hit after hit while retaining her super cool demeanor and having an audience that spans generations.
That couldn’t have been truer during her Meaning of Life Tour stop in Uniondale, New York on Thursday, March 8. I had bought tickets with a friend back in January and almost forgot about going until she reminded me two weeks beforehand. I’m glad she did, because it turned out to not only be an amazing night… but a true gay extravaganza.
Uniondale marked Kelly’s third month on this tour, where she’s brought along opening acts Brynn Cartelli (The Voice) and Kelsea Ballerini (rising country star) every single stop. Kelly surprisingly went to Long Island for the New York stop on her tour, performing at Nassau Coliseum as opposed to larger and more known venues like Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall.
It’s a test to how much her fans adore her as the inside of Nassau Coliseum was an interesting mix of gays from New York City (I knew many of them) and other areas, big families from Long Island, teenage girls and elderly couples who came for a night of Kelly, Kelly and more Kelly.
The show started at 7PM, however Kelly didn’t come on until about two hours later. That was a bit annoying, however she made it for it the minute she walked out on stage.
Here’s the thing that makes Kelly so likable and relatable: she’s herself. She’s been this way from the get and that’s why fans adore her so freaking much. She opened the show with her first number one hit, “A Moment Like This,” in a stunning ensemble that made this gay go crazy. She began talking to the crowd after that, which sort of became a running theme throughout the show as she mixed belting out her hits with chatting it up with all of us in her quirky Kelly kind of way.
There were several hilarious gay moments that happened while Kelly was on stage. For one, she noticed that someone in the crowd was wearing a Meryl Streep t-shirt. They more than likely wore this due to Kelly almost falling down the stairs when she met the 3-time Oscar winner at The Golden Globes recently. She cackled on stage after seeing the guy wear it and he offered to take it off and give it to her as a result.
Another gay moment that had me dying was when she brought up a local choreographer on stage who previously posted a video of himself doing a seductive performance of her song “Love So Soft” in heels. This happened during her Minute + A Glass of Wine segment. He did his best to teach her the choreography which included a lot of butt movement. She denied having a butt in the first place and made an excuse that it was just “spanx.”
Kelly also did an amazing medley of other people’s songs while on stage. It started with Cardi B’s “Be Careful” before transitioning into Post Malone’s “Better Now” and finished with Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor.”
I can’t forget her vocals throughout the entire show, which were nothing short of brilliant. Kelly’s voice has remained pretty much the same since her Idol days, especially when she sang her heart out to classics like “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “My Life Would Suck Without You.” She’s a testament to why there’s still good music out there, as her collection of songs that she’s racked up until now are truly awe-inspiring.
This concert for me cemented her legendary status as an artist, and I hope it does the same for anyone else who attends.
This is the opinion of one contributing writer and not that of Instinct Magazine or other Contributing Writers.
You guys really need to
You guys really need to proofread your articles before posting. It's embarrassing to always find grammatical errors and typos whenever I click on the links to these posts.