The Kelly Clarkson Show / YouTube Kelly Clarkson singing 'Monster Mash'
For “The Voice” coach and “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson, having a vocal performance be described as “scary” wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing, however with her latest Halloween performance, that is just the kind of reaction Clarkson is hoping for.
Clarkson opened the Halloween episode of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” with a Kellyoke cover of Bobby Pickett’s famous Halloween anthem “Monster Mash” complete with a ghostly wardrobe, eerie set, and spooky arrangement of the song. In the performance, Clarkson acts as a spirit, haunting a group of friends out camping in the woods, and is eventually joined by her band and backup singers as her group of monster friends.
See Clarkson’s full performance and hear what fans are saying below.
Kelly Clarkson Belts Out ‘Monster Mash’
Kelly Clarkson’s Halloween performance started with four friends camping in the woods, sharing scary stories together around of a bonfire. Clarkson and a violin player then suddenly appear out of the mist and begin the song. Throughout the performance, a number of musicians come and go with the same ghastly effect Clarkson entered with, scaring the four friends off. By the end of the song, Clarkson and her full band are rocking out to the chorus, and after fading away, Clarkson and her backup singers pop back on screen for one final jump scare.
Fans were raving about the performance. One fan wrote on YouTube, “Just when I think she couldn’t be any more talented, she goes and outdoes herself again. This is so iconic! 🎃”.
“I honestly think very few people get really how amazing of a singer she is. She’s honestly just way too good. The tone, riffs, range, head voice, technique and everything else is just is amazing. Just name one singer who can can do better ? Just one.”, another fan wrote.
Vulture described the performance as “another instant classic” from Clarkson, whose Kellyoke covers frequently make headlines.
Clarkson, who described her costume as a “Stevie Nicks ghost”, left the haunted forest Kellyoke set up for her entire Halloween episode. The singer said they spent all weekend prior to taping the episode constructing the set and pre-taping the “Monster Mash” performance so they could add in all the special effects.
Kelly Clarkson Doesn’t Hold Back When It Comes to Halloween
“The Kelly Clarkson Show” always goes big for Halloween, and the Kellyoke performances help inspire this. Past Halloween Kellyoke performances have been “I Put a Spell on You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins (with Clarkson in full “Hocus Pocus” costume), “Stayin’ Alive” by Bee Gees, and “Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr.
In a digital exclusive shared to “The Kelly Clarkson Show” YouTube channel, the show’s design team shares a behind-the-scenes look at how the 2021 “Ghostbusters” performance and set came together. Clarkson’s music director Jason Halbert was very excited about the performance and said it’s something he’s wanted to do for 30 years.
The team was able to procure the “Ecto-1”, the original car from the “Ghostbusters” movie, to have it on set during the 2021 episode. Clarkson even had Ernie Hudson from the movie on as a guest and had her team use special effects to make it look like he was helping Clarkson fight off a ghost.
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