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Kelly Clarkson opens a series of ten shows this week at Bakkt Theater.
Monday, July 24, 2023 | 2 a.m.
A lot has happened since Kelly Clarkson first announced a Las Vegas residency in November of 2019. That show, ironically titled “Invincible,” never got the chance to take off as planned in April 2020 because of the pandemic. But while the powerhouse singer hasn’t performed consistently since those COVID-caused closures, she’s been beyond busy in every possible way.
Clarkson had already launched her daytime talk show “The Kelly Clarkson Show” in September 2019, and today more than 700 episodes of aired on the way to garnering 13 Daytime Emmy Awards. In early 2020, she partnered with Wayfair to release a collection of furniture and home décor. In 2021, the 41-year-old entertainer released a second Christmas album and special, and last year, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Clarkson also finalized her divorce from talent manager Brandon Blackstock in 2022, a life event that inspired the creation of her 10th studio album, “Chemistry,” released last month on Atlantic Records. It’s also the name of her new Las Vegas engagement, which opens this week on July 28 at 8 p.m. at Bakkt Theater at the Planet Hollywood Resort. Tickets for all ten shows, running through August 19, are available at ticketmaster.com.
It was more than 20 years ago when Clarkson won the first season of “American Idol” and found instant stardom, but over the course of her career she’s earned the reputation as one of the strongest and most versatile vocalists of her generation. She recently told Billboard Magazine’s Pop Shop podcast that she’s ready to roll out her biggest hits during the “Chemistry” performances, and stretch out with some changing setlists.
“I’m gonna be that artist who’s definitely gonna give you all those songs you want to hear, because I hate when I go to shows and people don’t give me that,” she said. “All 10 shows will be different … we’re sprinkling in covers that people have liked or album tracks that people have liked. I’m going to hit the [new] album, just on different nights.”
Bakkt Theater, which was known as Zappos Theater when Clarkson’s original residency was set for the same room, is currently offering quite the range of performers. She joins regular headliners Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban, and one-off tour stops from Weezer, Van Morrison, Gloria Trevi and Los Angeles Azules are on the way.
Whether or not you consider ten shows an actual Las Vegas residency, Clarkson’s delayed arrival will certainly have an impact on the Strip scene, likely because she’s planning a more intimate style of concert. “The last Vegas thing that we were going to do was very different. It was huge,” she told Billboard. “It was just more of a spectacle kind of thing, which is what people obviously usually go to Vegas for, but it didn’t fit where I’m at right now, or this record. … I feel like that show will come one day.”
