‘American Idol’ notes: Kelly Clarkson, Kris Allen, and Kez Ban’s ‘Azure Sky’

American IdolToday’s “American Idol” notes were obviously brought to you by the letter “K,” and it also features some music from every single person we’re talking about. Since today was one of great historical significance (in between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the inauguration of President Obama for his second term), we’re going to start things off with a pretty sensation performance from Kelly Clarkson at the ceremony.

In what has to be one of the greatest honors that any singer can receive regardless of whether or not they were on the singing competition, the original champ completely nailed the melodically-challenging song that is “My Country Tis of Thee” during the inaugural ceremony. If she was performing this indoors, it would have been impressive; the fact that she did it outside in pretty chilly temperatures is simply amazing. How much praise do we need to pour on this woman at this point?

Kris Allen covers “Ho Hey” – Meanwhile, the champ from season 8 is continuing along a tradition on his tour that Kelly did for much of last year: covering a popular song at every stop. The video below is of a song that pretty much every person under the sun loves at the moment in The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey,” which was also just performed recently on “Saturday Night Live.”

Kris’ performance of the song in Decatur, Georgia, is pretty great, and just the way in which he introduced the song is worth watching, as well.

Watch Kez Ban’s full audition song – Kezban Sauerbier was a personal favorite from the season 12 auditions last week, as she brought a tough of something different with her quirky style, her bluesy music, and her startling self-awareness that she was on a contestant on something that was actually being recorded for viewers to see.

Now, the full rendition of “Azure Sky” is online. Enjoy, and start to wonder just what sort of songs she would sing live if she’s lucky enough to make it so far.

 

Do you want to read some more “American Idol” season 12 news via another new contestant in Lazaro Arbos? If so, be sure to check out the story over at the link here.

Photo: Fox

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