Singer-host took on the Guts artist’s hit song for Halloween
Kelly Clarkson took the the stage for “Kellyoke” on Tuesday, bloody tears and all, to pour out her own rendition of Olivia Rodrigo‘s single, “Vampire.”
Accompanied with what appeared to be Uncle Fester at the piano, Clarkson crooned out the radio-friendly lyrics: “The way you sold me for parts as you sunk your teeth into me/Bloodsucker, dream crusher/ Bleeding me dry, like a damn vampire.”
When speaking to Rolling Stone in June, the Guts singer-songwriter opened up about the song’s inspiration. “I just sat down at the piano one day and played these chords that felt kind of gothic to me,” said Rodrigo. “I think there’s a lot of vampire lore to be played with like ‘You only come out at night’ and stuff like that. There’s a lot of fun songwriting fodder in there.”
She added: “I think it reflects the journey that I was going through and the anger that gets pent up in an experience like the one that the song’s about.”
Last week, The Kelly Clarkson Show returned for a fifth season and kicked things off with a cover of Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter.” During an interview with USA Today earlier this month, Clarkson discussed leaving The Voice after nine seasons amid personal struggles and how she felt going into the next season of her talk show.
“That move was very needed. I think the thing I’m most excited about with season 5, on a selfish level, is just showing up to work smiling and actually meaning it,” she said. “That’s a beautiful gift that you don’t realize until you’re out of it.”