Kelly Clarkson, even in the rain, draws hundreds to the opening of a Microsoft store in Beachwood

Kelly Clarkson performs at a free outdoor concert at Beachwood Place on Saturday, in a show sponsored by Microsoft to mark the opening of its retail store in the mall. Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer

BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- The grand opening of a Microsoft store gathered upwards of 700 people, including some who camped overnight, standing enthusiastically in a cold rain outside Beachwood Place on Saturday evening.

Of course, the attraction of a free Kelly Clarkson concert might have helped. Xboxes, tablets and smartphones can only do so much.

Fans started forming a line Friday evening to be among the first 100 waiting Saturday morning. They were given tickets to both the show and a post-performance meet-and-greet with Clarkson. Other tickets were distributed in the store and at the gate, in the mall's west parking area.

Early arrivals got the best spots in front of the tented outdoor stage and snacks from Microsoft -- plus a soaking from rain that turned to hail at one point.

"Winter coats came back out for this," said a suitably bundled Jaime Navratil, 25, of Mayfield Heights.

"No -- I was not prepared for this," said a shivering Alley Arrison, 19, of Eastlake, who awaited the arrival of her boyfriend, brother and best friend with warmer clothing.

A woman from Microsoft headquarters in Washington went into the mall to buy gloves, "but they don't have any -- it's spring," she said, making air quotes around "spring."

But enthusiasm for Clarkson was neither cooled nor dampened.

"I love her," said Stacey Friedman, 24, of Orange. "She got me hooked on 'American Idol,' " whose first season Clarkson won a decade ago.

Chants of "Kelly, Kelly" started two minutes before the hourlong show's scheduled 6 p! .m. start. Clarkson, a multi-Grammy winner with album sales of more than 20 million, hit the stage at 6 sharp, in a black jacket and jeans.

"Come on, it'll be warmer!" she said, fueling a wave of bouncing and arm-pumping as she opened with "My Life Would Suck Without You."

"Holy crap!" she exclaimed afterward, getting a laugh when she explained she noticed her zipper was open, then smoothly transitioned to "Hazel Eyes."

Clarkson and two other acts, Blake Shelton and Train, are playing "mini concerts" at prime locations around the country as Microsoft opens retail stores. The Beachwood store, expanded from a "pop-up" outlet originally scheduled to exist only during the last holiday season, is one of two in Ohio, manager Stacey Vyas said.

The opening started with a morning ribbon-cutting where Microsoft gave $1.5 million in software grants to Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland and the YMCA of Greater Cleveland.