Fans of Kelly Clarkson were enthralled by her cover of Nick Jonas’ tune “Close” during a recent “Kellyoke” segment shared with Instagram. They loved it almost as much as the original, which was performed by her fellow Voice coach.
The song, featuring Swedish pop star Tove Lo, was on Nick’s third studio album, Last Year Was Complicated. The tune was released in 2016.
Kelly paid homage to the newest coach on the series by performing the melodic song for both the studio and viewing audiences of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
The first American Idol winner put a soulful spin on the pop tune. She showed off her vocal prowess and perfect diction as she clearly annunciated each and every word of the popular song that was a smash pop hit for Nick during his career as a solo artist.
In Kelly’s version, “Close’s” powerful words are more clearly understood as the superstar performer carefully phrases each verse of the song that raced all the way to No. 4 on the Billboard charts.
In a 2016 tweet, Jonas explained the meaning behind the deeply personal tune.
“I literally can’t open up and be vulnerable with someone.”
Kelly put her own spin on the pop smash, which was released two years after Nick had split from his family band The Jonas Brothers.
Fans appeared to love Kelly’s version of the tune and shared their feelings in the comments section of the video.
“What a lovely song and with Kelly I appreciate that she was s so great at enunciating the words that I can understand what she is singing and sharing (maybe my mature ears only need to listen to Kelly sing). Love she gets right in close to her audience also. She is loved,” said one fan of the singer.
“Goosebumps every time you sing!!” remarked a second fan.
“I love this song,” said a third fan, followed by a smiley face emoji.
For the performance, Kelly wore a black, long-sleeved dress with a high neck. The garment fell to calf-length and was decorated with a multitude of red stars.
A thin belt was used to highlight Kelly’s small waistline.
The superstar singer and Voice coach wore the outfit with black spiked-heel boots.
For her hair and makeup fashion, Kelly’s blond tresses were blown out straight and parted in the middle with tendrils framing her face. She wore a light-colored makeup palette, using her signature red lip as the standout feature.