Kelly Clarkson joined an iconic 1990s girl group for a stunning performance on The Kelly Clarkson Show . She joined Carnie Wilson, Wendy Wilson, and Chynna Phillips of the band Wilson Phillips for a rendition of one of their greatest hits.
The women gathered together on the stage to sing “Hold On,” the band’s first No. 1 single, which hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in June 1990. It also won Billboard’s award for top Hot 100 single of 1990 and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1991, losing to “From A Distance” by Bette Midler.
The singing trio joined Kelly to perform the tune after their appearance on the popular daytime talk series.
Kelly looked stunning in a long-sleeved brown and black zebra-print dress with a high neckline and a calf-length skirt. She paired her look with ankle-length black boots and neutral-colored stockings.
On the host’s left stood Carnie, who wore a coordinating black shirt and jacket, with calf-length black pants and sparkly silver sneakers.
Next in the lineup was Chynna, who rocked a white fringed sweater, dark black pants, and black boots to finish her look.
Finally, Wendy drove the overall fashion of the women home with a black off-the-shoulder top, leather pants, and animal-print booties.
Although the melodic song tells the tale of a struggle and overcoming adversity, the melodic voices of Carnie, Wendy, and Chynna elevate the song to a pop classic and effectively mask any dark undertones in the tune’s lyrics.
During the band’s interview portion of the show, Chynna revealed a deeper meaning to the lyrics, which have become immortalized in the television series Schooled and the finale of the 2011 film Bridesmaids , where the women performed the tune in a cameo.
Chynna opened up about the song’s history during the interview portion, admitting there was a time in her life when the lyrics really helped her out.
“I was really in a dark, dark space when that lyric was written,” she said to Kelly as reported by Entertainment Weekly .
“I was at a crossroads, and I really felt like if I didn’t get my life together and stop [doing drugs], and I had like a really bad boyfriend at the time, and I just was in a lot of pain. And I just said, ‘If I don’t change my course, I’m going to be in a lot of trouble.’ So I knew that I was at a crossroads and that I either had to, like, hold on for one more day or just die,” the singer continued.
