Kelly Clarkson has a reputation for delivering out-of-this-world covers on her TV show. Sometimes, one could argue that her Kellyoke covers are better than the original songs. However, even Clarkson has songs that she believes no one should cover. Among those is the Dolly Parton classic “I Will Always Love You.” But when it came time to pay tribute to Parton, she set aside her apprehension and performed a chilling rendition of the classic song.
The Academy of Country Music called upon Clarkson to sing a tribute to Parton during the 57th annual ACM Awards in 2022. While she believes that no one should cover “I Will Always Love You” she couldn’t say no to honoring one of the Queens of Country Music at the awards show. Watch her take the stage and deliver a chill bump-raising rendition of the classic song below.
Kelly Clarkson Reflects on Her Dolly Parton Tribute
Last year, Kelly Clarkson appeared on The Howard Stern Show. During her conversation with Stern, she looked back on her Dolly Parton tribute and why she believes that no one should cover “I Will Always Love You.”
“You did ‘I Will Always Love You’ which to me, as a non-singer, seems like an incredible task because Whitney Houston did it, you’ve got to hit these high notes,” Stern said. “I would usually never say yes to singing that song,” Clarkson said. “But they asked me to do a tribute to Dolly on the ACMs and I was like, ‘Sure!’ I’m a huge Dolly fan. So, I was like, ‘Just let me know what song,’” she recalled.
“Nobody usually sings that song, because you shouldn’t,” Clarkson continued. Then, Stern asked her why singers shouldn’t cover “I Will Always Love You.” He wondered if it was because Houston did such a stellar rendition of it for The Bodyguard.
“Yes. She did it perfectly. And Dolly. I love both versions, I grew up on both,” Clarkson replied. “I think there’s just certain songs that, like, when a moment happens with a song—like Bodyguard, that’s like the biggest soundtrack in the world—when it’s such a moment, the moment becomes almost bigger than the song,” she explained. “You’re already defeated before you even sing one note. You already feel like, ‘Oh sh-t,’” she added.
While she was hesitant to go through with the performance, she couldn’t say no. “I wanted to be part of [the tribute to Parton]. I think that’s the bigger thing. You can’t let your ego kill the moment,” she said.
