Have you listened to Meaning of Life yet? It has been almost a month exactly since I asked you nicely to listen to Meaning of Life. Well, now I’m yelling. If you didn’t believe me that Kelly Clarkson’s new album is GREAT, her AMAs performance was essentially a slap in the face of greatness. 

The AMAs reminded viewers repeatedly that the American Idol reboot no one asked for is coming whether we want it to or not and that Kelly Clarkson won the show 15 years ago. Stop trying to use Kelly to make you cool again, Idol. The good thing about ABC’s shameless plug is that Kelly was forced (asked nicely?) to perform her first official single Miss Independent before she launched into her latest hit Love So Soft. God, I love Miss Independent. I also really love Love So Soft. Together, they act as nice bookends to Kelly’s career. It’s fitting that right before launching into the lead single of the album she made while finally free of her Idol contract, Kelly belted out a song about independence she recorded when she was metaphorically shackled to a sh-tty contract. Fifteen years later, she’s finally Miss Self-Sufficient. Sorry, I had to. 

 

Demi Lovato was me during Kelly’s performance.  

Can we talk about the epic feather creation by Christian Siriano Kelly wore for her performance? It’s straight Game of Thrones realness and I want it. If you asked me before the show, I would never have guessed that one of my favourite looks of the night would come from Kelly Clarkson. That’s what I get for underestimating Meaning of Life–era Kelly. She’s on one. 

Before Kelly wowed the AMAs with her solo medley, she opened the show with Pink. They sang a tribute to first responders with a rendition of Everybody Hurts that I shockingly held it together during. It was an emotional performance intended to highlight the horrendous sh-t that has happened so far in 2017 but it was also just a pleasure to watch. Pink and Kelly Clarkson seemed to be genuinely enjoying each other and their vibe was infectious. Plus, they are two of the best vocalists in the game. Their duet was undoubtedly a show highlight and honestly, I thought it would be the only Kelly Clarkson moment we’d still be talking about the next day. As obsessed I am with Meaning of Life, I still made the mistake of underestimating Kelly again. She proved me wrong twice. I will never doubt her again.