Concert review: Kelly Clarkson at Universals Mardi Gras

Kelly Clarkson had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction in the opening moments of her energetic show on Saturday at Universals Mardi Gras, but not the Janet Jackson kind.

The original American Idol was wearing a new pair of pants, accented by chains dangling around the ankles. Not a good idea, it turns out, fora singer whospends so much of her time on stage jumping around.

I have, like, a thousand chains ripping my feet, Clarksonconfessed in her chipper, highly caffeinated wayto a crowd that packed the plaza in front of the stage. Theyre gonna need ice, Im just saying.

With her glittery microphone and sparkling personality, Clarkson showed that, a decade after her Idol crown, shes still thegirl-next-door justonewith a string of pop hitsa mile long.

She delivered plenty of them in a well-paced, stylishly designedand musically solid 80 minutes. In between the songs, she was aChatty Cathy about everything from her favorite singers (Demi Lovato is among them) to the members of her band,the stories behind her songs and, well, whatever happened to cross her mind.

Aftermuffinga line in her rendition of Lovatos Skyscraper, she acknowledged it with an endearing good humor:I love when I mess up lyrics and it completely doesnt make sense!

Even so, her version of thatsong, accompanied by a pair of acoustic guitars, was a heartfeltinterpretation.Maybe its her Idol experience, but Clarkson has a way with other peoples material.

On Saturday, Clarkson injected the requisite dramatic tension into Florence + the Machines Heavy in Your Arms and delivered a delicate, emotionally charged take onCarrie Underwoods I Know You Wont, accompanied by solitary piano.

Shealso approached her own material from a different angleon the understated encore version of Never Again, an idea she said came from a fan. More often, though, she offered faithful versions ofcatchy hits such as Breakaway, My Life Would Suck Without You, Mr. Know It All andthe title track of her latest album, Stronge! r.

On the latter, Clarksonwas bouncing again becauseit obviously takes more than a fashion statement gone awry to keep her down.