‘Need this on Spotify, like NOW’: Kelly Clarkson’s cover of a Sabrina Carpenter hit proves 2024 is the year of country music

Kelly Clarkson has put her magical spin on Sabrina Carpenter’s pop hit and the result has, once again, sparked a hunger for more. Once again, Clarkson has highlighted her reputation as one of the music industry’s most versatile artists. 

She’s notably tackled country, R&B, dance, and even hip-hop, all while sounding right at home with each cover. Now, listeners all over the internet have been losing it over the country-tinged cover of the snarky, Grammy-nominated pop hit “Please Please Please.”

Kelly Clarkson’s pleasing Country cover

Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” is one of the songs of summer, and for good reason. But  when one eager listener played Clarkson’s version and (rightly) tweeted, “Need this on Spotify, like NOW!,” there was nothing but . Why? Well the way one comment on YouTube describes the cover pretty much sums up everything we’re feeling: “Sabrina’s version is fun and cheeky, Kelly’s version makes me wanna cry lol.”

Clarkson’s approach to the live band’s arrangement and performance was both familiar, and yet, completely different from all her typical covers on The Kelly Clarkson Show: the breathtakingly belted notes will have an easy time bringing tears to the brim of your eyes. Altogether, the elements of her brilliant cover will remind you exactly why Clarkson is America’s primo idol.

Country music continues to branch out

Another reason why Kelly Clarkson’s cover is resonating so strongly with many people is that performances like this might be the future of country music. Clarkson has, in fact, dabbled in country music in the past, and is more than comfortable proving she’s a genre chameleon. On the show, Clarkson herself confessed: “Ever since I heard this song, for some reason I hear, like, Dolly Parton singing it as well…for some reason it lends itself to country to me.” And if there’s any reason to believe Kelly, there is the fact that she has both covered and sung with Dolly Parton a number of times.

Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album immediately comes to mind.

As for Kelly Clarkson’s rendition of “Please Please Please,” Carpenter is yet to voice a response to the cover, but if she does, it’s surely going to be a positive one. Perhaps, even positive enough that the duo may get to work together in the future. After all, well, Taylor Swift. Similarly, Clarkson’s history with country music is deep, growing up in Texas, and living in Nashville.

Altogether, the year is 2024, and now more than ever, it has been made clear that country music is no longer confined to a single, traditional sound. With powerhouse vocalists like Kelly Clarkson, Chappell Roan, and Beyoncé breathing new life into the genre, the possibilities are endless. Fans are eating up these country music fusions, and the industry is taking notice. So now’s as good a time as ever to strap in, for the continued evolution of the country music landscape is picking up more and more steam.