Kelly Clarkson should be more American idle when it comes to performances
(Steve Griffin | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kelly Clarkson sings to the crowd during her concert at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah Tuesday, March 20, 2012.
Review Singer reduced to belting out songs of heartbreak.
Near the halfway point of her Tuesday night concert at the Maverik Center, Kelly Clarkson made a joke that revealed more than she might like to admit.
The 29-year-old singer introduced a song called "I Forgive You" by saying that she obviously didnt write it because of the sentiment expressed.
At a glance
Kelly Clarkson
Bottom Line Kelly Clarkson overpowers her message through lack of restraint
When Tuesday
Where Maverik Center, West Valley City
With Matt Nathanson
And that was one of the problems with her 90-minute show. There is no denying that she possess a powerhouse voice that can huff and puff and blow anyone houses down, never misses a note and looks effortless in her delivery.
But with a voice like that, backed by a large eight-piece band, she was often reduced to a belter, not a singer who elicits sympathy. With her modern-day torch songs, most of Clarksons material are songs of vengeance that allow little opportunity for her to sing with nuance and subtlety. And when she belted yet another song about a man who had done her wrong, it grew wearying. If you didnt know the words, you wouldnt know that "Stronger" is a song about the end of a relationship and that "My Life Would Suck Without You" is a love song she sang them the same way, without a discernible sense of genuine emotion.
Clarkson, whose stage was simple with four halos hovering over her in the rafters, is too much of a professional to phone in a show. Her string of hits over the past decade show a chameleon-like talent for delivering country laments as affectingly as grunge-lite rockers. (Whether she has found her voice as an artist is a discussion for! another time.) When Clarkson simplifies arrangements, she connects much more, such as when her rendition of "I Know You Wont" illustrated why she rightfully won the inaugural season of "American Idol." Backed by only a piano, she was impressive when she wasnt forced to yell.
In addition, with her southern accent and "yalls" augmented with a giggly demeanor, she is an extremely likable performer. I feel bad about expressing disappointment it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, after all.
But the litany of songs ("Mr. Know It All," "Since U Been Gone," "Walk Away") about being wronged, coupled with unrelenting attempts to sing over the loud band, make Clarkson sound like a wounded shouter unable to become the "Miss Independent" she longs to be.
Twitter: @davidburger