Halfway through Kelly Clarkson's homecoming concert Sunday night in front of a packed Gexa Energy Pavilion, the 33-year-old belter introduced a song that she said "encompasses my catalog."
The song was "Second Wind," from Clarkson's latest album Piece by Piece (the LP for which the current tour is named), and its chorus is built around the lines, "I've been down, down, down, down/but I always come back around."
Sure, she's seen peaks and valleys. But since she rose to fame 13 years ago after winning the iconic first season of American Idol, the straight-talking Burleson girl has never lost the abiding love of her fans. She's too likable, too steady and far too talented to let stardom slip away completely.
Clarkson's natural confidence and no-bull approach were what defined her show on Sunday, which also provided a homecoming for the five-piece a capella opener Pentatonix. Despite some sound issues throughout, both marquee acts thrived on the eagerness of the crowd to open its arms and sing along.
While pitch perfect, Pentatonix was a little off: Compared to its headlining home-turf show at Verizon Theatre back in March, Sunday's abridged set didn't impress as much. The sound mix — which would be less than stellar throughout the night — was too muddled at times for fans to hear the clarity of the five a capella voices. Perhaps the young singers, three of whom graduated from high school in Arlington, picked up on this. From opening song "Problem" (an Ariana Grande cover) to a hastily delivered Michael Jackson super medley, Pentatonix struggled with both tempo and clarity of arrangement.
The good news about Pentatonix's speedy performance? Its original songs were met with the greatest enthusiasm, which bodes well for an upcoming full-length album hitting stores in October. New single "Can't Sleep Love" found the group's members at their most relaxed and charming, while older song "On My Way Home" gave them a hearty moment of organized crowd participation.
The former Sing-Off victors redeemed themselves entirely later on when they joined Clarkson to back her on "Heartbeat Song." They vibed with their headliner well and sounded strong even when the band kicked in behind them.
Clarkson kicked off with radio smashes, but the ballads hit home: Backed by a large moving wall of video panels, a muscular band and three backing singers, our Burleson champ worked the entire stage during the first few upbeat songs of her set. "Dance With Me," "My Life Would Suck Without You" and "Dark Side" had most of the fans in seats standing up, even though the sound mix was again obscuring some of the lead vocals.
Clarkson kept the mood light and fun in the beginning, shouting out family and friends in the audience and cracking jokes about being pregnant with her second child while performing in late-August humidity.
"I'm making another [baby] now, which is really awesome when it's hot," she said before singing "Dark Side." Such quips came easily for the singer — evidence of the approachable authenticity for which she's so well known and liked.
Clarkson never appears to follow a script. Before doing the new tune "Take You High," she proclaimed, "This is my favorite song in the show, so if you don't like it, suck it. ... Just kidding." This was right after she let us know she'd accidentally bitten her tongue. "Ouch! Maybe I shouldn't talk so much."
More powerful than Clarkson's laughs and catchy choruses were her emotional moments. She choked up several times during a stripped down piano version of "Piece by Piece" — the song she wrote comparing the failures of her own father to the triumphs of her husband. With a second child on the way, her outward emotions regarding the joys and responsibilities of parenthood moved many in the audience to tears. Then came another broken-home piano ballad, "Because of You," followed by the sunnier dreamers' anthem, "Breakaway."
Those moments brought out the best in Clarkson's soaring voice, making us hope that one day she'll choose to do an entire set in that stripped down fashion. That voice, those songs and the woman herself — they were enough.
