BY TREVOR MONROE
Staff Reporter
On Nov. 1, Kelly Clarkson announced her Las Vegas residency, “Invincible.” It will be starting in 2020 at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood.
A residency is similar to a tour, where an artist does a large amount of shows within a certain time period. The difference between a tour and a residency, is that residencies remove the traveling part that tours have.
According to the New York Times, Clarkson will be staying in Vegas for the entirety of the residency and will be performing for 16 shows over the course of six months. The first show will be held on April 1, with her last show wrapping up on Sept. 26.
In a statement mentioned in the New York Times, Clarkson said that, “she’s excited and has always loved performing in Las Vegas and the energy of the crowds.”
Some students were unfamiliar with artist residencies.
“I’ve never heard of a residency,” said junior Chris Budres. “It sounds like a lot of work to me.”
Students remember Clarkson from when she started her singing career on the reality TV Show, “American Idol.” She won the show’s first season, which provided her a record deal with RCA Records, S Records, and 19 Recordings.
“I remember watching American Idol with my mom when I was really young,” said Budres. “It’s all my mom would watch and since I wasn’t big enough to ask for the remote, I was stuck watching it with her.”
Some of Clarkson’s popular hits upon the start of her career were “A Moment Like This” and “Before Your Love,” which were released in Sept. 2002.
Lady Gaga is another artist who has a two year Las Vegas Residency at the Park Theater, which began in Dec. 2018, according to AP News. Some of her popular songs are “Just Dance,” “Born This Way” and “Poker Face.”
Another artist with plans for a residency is Christina Aguilera. Aguilera’s first album was titled “Christina Aguilera” in Aug. 1999. Her latest album, “Liberation” came out in 2018.
Aguilera’s residency is titled “The Xperience” and will take place between Dec. 27 to March 7, in the same Theater where Clarkson will be performing.
Clarkson is also an author. Her first children’s book, “River Rose and the Magical Lullaby,” was published on Oct. 4, 2016.
“What I like about her is that she is such a sweet, down-to-earth person,” said junior Kristen Cignarella. “Her style of music, her strength, courage and how she always stays true to herself are some of her best qualities.”
Clarkson also hosts her own talk show, “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” It is described by NBC as “Daytime’s newest destination for humor, heart, and connection, featuring three-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, mother and America’s original idol, Kelly Clarkson.”
Clarkson has released eight studio albums, which many students have enjoyed.
“My favorite album is her Christmas album, ‘Wrapped in Red.’ Her voice is so beautiful and so joyful with this album,” said Cignarella.
“Wrapped in Red” is Clarkson’s sixth studio album, released Oct. 2013. It features songs like “Silent Night,” “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.”
Clarkson collaborated with Dan + Shay on their song “Keeping Score” in 2018. The single can be streamed on Spotify and Apple Music.
The Associated Press and The New York Times contributed to this article.
