Kelly Clarkson kicked off her brand-new Las Vegas residency “Kelly Clarkson: Studio Sessions” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Friday night (July 11) — one week later than planned.
After postponing the original opening weekend dates of July 4 and 5 due to rehearsals taking “a toll” on her famous voice, Clarkson delivered on her promise to fans to bring “the studio to the stage” for the new residency. The stage setup brought the audience inside exactly what it’s like to be a fly on the wall in a Clarkson recording session.
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“Studio Sessions” isn’t Clarkson’s first turn as a Las Vegas headliner. After a no-go in 2020 for the 18-date “Invincible” residency due to the pandemic, she finally made it to the stage of PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in 2023 with the sold-out “Chemistry” engagement. The show kicked off on July 28, 2023, and was initially scheduled for 10 dates. However, it expanded to 14 dates with the addition of performances over the New Year’s Eve holiday of that year and the 2024 Super Bowl.
In 2020, she told Billboard that Las Vegas represented an excellent opportunity for her. “I’m able to do things with [a residency] that I’ve never been able to carry out on the road,” she says. “We get to stay for a bit, see and hang with fans, and then you’re not having to travel every night to a different city, which can be exhausting. I’m stoked to have a home away from home [in Vegas].”
Recently, she teased fans with an ultra-glam Sin City look, wearing a plunging sequin jumpsuit accented in feathers, for the “Where Have You Been” video, channeling fellow Las Vegas headliner Cher.
“I’ve always loved performing in Las Vegas and the high energy of the crowds. Musicians from every genre of music, young and old, rookies and legends—it has become this fantastic city filled with artists from everywhere. So many of my musical idols have had, and still have, incredible residencies on the Strip, and I’m so excited to create my own,” Clarkson says.
There are 16 performances of “Kelly Clarkson: Studio Sessions” scheduled through Nov. 15, with news dates for the postponed July 4-5 shows yet to be announced. In the 23 years since she won American Idol, Clarkson has sold more than 25 million albums and 40 million singles worldwide. In addition to three Grammy Awards, she has multiple Emmys on the mantle for her six-season Kelly Clarkson Show.
A highlight of Friday night’s debut came during the second-to-last song of the night, when Clarkson introduced a rotating Kellyoke cover — named after the wildly popular performance segment from her daytime talk show — this time performing the Dolly Parton-penned “I Will Always Love You” in the style of Whitney Houston’s 1992 The Bodyguard soundtrack version.
Here’s a look at Clarkson’s full opening-night setlist for “Kelly Clarkson: Studio Sessions” at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.