While in Las Vegas last Saturday (Sept. 23) for the iHeart Radio Music Festival, Kelly Clarkson shared a once-in-a-lifetime memory with a street performer.
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"I was on my way to soundcheck for [the festival] tonight in Vegas and was tipping this incredible woman killing some Tina Turner," Clarkson wrote in an Instagram caption. "And then she asked me to sing and had no clue who I was. And then it hit her, and it made my day! She gives the best hugs and sings her tail off!"
Clarkson's active wear look, complete with a ponytail in a baseball cap, made her unassuming enough amid other pedestrians. So, it makes sense that her collaborator didn't recognize a celebrity run-in until the "Stronger" singer turned sidewalk karaoke into kellyoke.
The street musician exclaimed "are you f---ing kidding me?" after Clarkson's take on "What's Love Got to Do With It" revealed the star's not-so-secret identity. Through it all, Clarkson's collaborator danced, clapped and smiled. Better yet, at least one observer dropped cash in the tip jar.
Multiple celebrity commenters chimed in on Instagram, with Ryan Seacrest declaring it "so good" and former Reba star Melissa Peterman writing that it "made everyone's day."
Clarkson has been a regular in Vegas lately because of the summer Chemistry residency at Bakkt Theater. Between her personal life and television obligations, Clarkson hasn't toured since 2019. A 2020 Invincible residency was slated at the same venue but cancelled due to the lockdown.
"It's been years for me [since I've been able to] sing more than two minutes on TV," Clarkson sold Billboard as part of the residency announcement. "It's nice to be doing a full show. I worked really hard on this record and it took me a while to figure out if I was actually going to put it out. Once I decided, I wanted to sing this live and to feel that energy from the crowd. I didn't want to do a tour. I have a lot of jobs and also I obviously want to spend some time with my kids this summer so I agreed to do 10 shows."
