Kelly Clarkson covered Sad But True and it's weird

[@CripplingExpresso]

Ah yes my favorite Medallica song, Sat But True

[@loweffortproductions1985]

Saturday but true

[@Ilshatey]

Sat Butt Rou

[@SesamemeFrog429]

What about Ender Satman

[@luckyluc25]

You know it's Saturday but True

[@leahwestmoreland8467]

Sand Patrol

[@EmperorTigerstar]

Honestly it is stunning how well Kelly’s voice still sounds 20 years later.

[@BecomeTheKnight]

Yeah her voice is excellent!!!

[@Ryo7_7]

True.

[@2nerC9]

very true

[@stevem1965]

Here's the thing. This is an opening segment for a talk show so yes they can only put so much time into each song and they have to keep it to two minutes. they have covered over 700 songs, 180 per season. The band rehearses 6 songs a week for only about 6 hours. She usually learns the vocals morning of the show while in makeup chair and she will change the key depending on how she feels. With all that its amazing what they get done each week. There is a reactor named Fischtank who does Kellyoke live streams and he was invited to go there to play Black Hole Sun with them. Check it out , he played lead guitar. They did it in one take with no rehearsal and yes she changed the key last minute. BTW the piano player is her musical director Jason Halpert, been with her since Idol. He does the arrangements and Jessie Collins her backup does the vocal arrangements. The band is her actual touring band. Yes these Kellyokes are not epics but there are some that are truely amazing. Check out Im Gonna Be for a good reimagined song.

[@sydhamelin1265]

I give Kelly Clarkson some credit as a pop star for wandering outside of pop tropes to some extent. She never wanders far enough to really grab me, but still, credit where it's due.

[@BecomeTheKnight]

Yeah her work is at least interesting in that regard. She mixes stuff up sometimes.

[@darkdudironaji]

Mike: *10 minute video thoughtfully breaking down every second of a 2 minute cover* His audience: "Sat but true!'

[@danielalvarado6449]

Mike, this is way more than just a reaction. Really loved all your thoughts, your analysis and it was also very entertaining. Keep up the quality content!

[@emilythomas2577]

She actually sounds amazing

[@kevinkliesing3732]

Saturday, But True

[@grachisol8236]

She has a very good voice

[@masterjoeg]

YOU KNOW IT’S SAT BUT TRUUUUUUUEEEE

[@rebeccassweetmusic4632]

OMG! I have SO much respect for Kelly Clarkson as a singer and performer. She's one of my favorite singers, and I love to watch and learn from her. I love how she holds the high notes, brightens the vowels, and then switches to rounded vowels for a darker and softer tone. I love it when singers cover a song that's unexpected and outside their comfort zone but still sound vocally themselves. Have you heard of Jaron Legrair? I think he has a video of his analysis of Kelly singing "Lose Control" with the original singer, Teddy Swims (who is also phenomenal). Jaron is a vocal coach who does really good and accurate analysis of pop/gospel/jazz performances (as well as other singers from other genres).

[@redda4ever]

Kelly doesn't generally choose the songs for Kellyoke. The audience makes requests and she covers whatever they ask for.

[@tracigreen4786]

Dude! This is pretty much Kelly having fun here.She does this everyday on her show.She makes it her own. Calm down, she’s not trying to turn into a heavy metal queen. It’s a two minute cover. And I think she did an incredible job. So chill out and stop talking about Kelly in such a way.

[@tleeg74]

I agree 100% Everything doesn't need to be dissected with a microscope.

[@lmr1049]

If it’s in the public domain, he can critique it. And KC knows that. A critique is not a personal attack the recipient needs to be shielded from. And he gave her plenty of praise here, as well. Grow up.

[@thehunter7422]

First he was the Table , now hes the Chair that you sit on , cause he knew it was Sat but True

[@TheKyokushinMaster]

dont forget he's "the reflection in the window" LOL

[@Madchris8828]

I think she has a great voice but overall its a little strange. Kudos for the effort and its interesting to see her go outside her own genres that much.

[@shayxtreme]

She did a great job . Was a very evanescence style.

[@pokecasual6027]

She's done a ton of these. Some are legit amazing. Depends on the song of course.

[@Yenneffer]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Nickelback did it better.

[@MrDman21]

I'd give it an equals sign =

[@Madchris8828]

Only tangentially related but they came to my town and I was blown away how expensive tickets (even mediocre) were to the Nickelback concert. My friend and I considered going and just goofying off and having a good time until then 😂. Like 60 or 70 dollars or something on the low end lol

[@Yenneffer]

@@Madchris8828 Oof, that's pretty steep. Supply and demand, I guess lol.

[@Madchris8828]

@@Yenneffer yeah I like Nickelback fine but that seems a bit crazy. Meanwhile I saw Korn, Evanescence, POD, Alice in Chains, Bush and Breaking Benjamin for cheaper at different points through the last 2 Summers.

[@Stonesour1]

Kelly is an amazing singer and her rendition was very complimentary !

[@robbiegarnz7732]

Kelly Clarkson is a national treasure!

[@tugehitties]

Sat but true! Love that Megadeth song

[@mikemiller551]

DON'T!

[@russellward4624]

Personally, I'd have preferred that she continued with the 1st verse feel. Just have the whole song with the haunting vulnerability depression and dumped the whole fo-metal turn.

[@CanadaWaxSolvent]

I think there's a missed opportunity not going for the minor chorded acoustic country cover. But, I think they were looking for something that fits rocking out on morning television which is netherworld with it's own fascinations.

[@williamlanger9229]

This is why metal has become and will become increasingly irrelevant. Anytime anyone remotely popular references metal, ppl endlessly complain about the smallest and most meaningless details. Theres literally someone in this comment section complaining about the guitarist’s pick guard. Come on…

[@BecomeTheKnight]

You know....I'm the one who said she should have made her rendition a pop ballad....right?

[@MKDumas1981]

I want to give some props to the drummer. My band covers "Sad But True". I, as the drummer, try to stick as close to Lars's original fills (and live embellishments) as I can. He didn't play Lars's exact fill at the end of the second verse, but it invoked the same musical idea, and I appreciate that.

[@stephaniewade2973]

That's Lester Estelle, he's not only Kelly's drummer on tv, tour and in studio but he's in a band as well it's called Pillar.

[@henryhawley1]

I will always stand with heavy metal songs should not be covered by soft pop artists however for a pop artist it was good

[@pablometallicauc]

Metallica drops a Cover of an Elton John song (Love lies bleeding) you could do an analysis on that

[@cowboybill.2433]

That’s a Reason I don’t listen to them anymore.What will be next ?a rainbow flag Explorer or Kirk Hammett eventually making his coming out ?they disappointed me too much !

[@thiagopena3258]

Hey Mike, what’s your favorite song by Metallica?

[@ITBlanka]

I'm here before Sat(urday?) it's no longer.

[@f.2366]

The original isn’t that special - riff is simple and the structure is also pretty basic - no real progression either. She was asked by an actrice to sing it and put her spin on it - pretty good job for a daily quick 2 min rendition.

[@travisspaulding2222]

Lol, those guitars are heavy as fuck for Kelly Clarkson's daytime audience.

[@BecomeTheKnight]

Lmao fair

[@stephaniewade2973]

And you know what? This isn't Metallica.

[@Roadiedave]

I have it on good authority that they used the NPR amplifier/pre-amp setup through a mixer provided by WinAmp

[@theg-man4474]

You should check out Robyn Adele Anderson's covers of Master Of Puppets, Enter Sandman, and Nothing Else Matters. Not to mention The Warning's cover of Enter Sandman. They're everything you wished this style of Metallica cover should have sounded like compositionally.

[@NuMetalfan1996]

I’m a fan of Kelly Clarkson, I think her 2004 Breakaway album is one of if not the very best PoP album of the last 30 years. Kelly Clarkson is how you do PoP music right.

[@filthbringer]

What's up with the video becoming a slideshow whenever you're showing her video? Is it just me seeing this or what's going on? Your video is playing perfectly 60fps during the time where you aren't showing her video.

[@georgedomse]

When it comes to Sad But True covers, Kid Rock did the best one.

[@dookieshoe2905]

I can't tell if this is a joke or a serious statement.

[@hanzohasashi4534]

There's something about the random David Draiman cameo that cracks me up.

[@dawids3557]

I liked the first part. It should have been in that format throughout.

[@BrettShadow]

Yeah that somber dark movie montage type tone was decent

[@ahyesverygood1336]

Kelly puts her own spin on the covers she does, whether it's Snow Patrol, Radiohead, The Clash, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, The White Stripes, Foo Fighters.... A lot of her viewers might not listen to indie or rock/metal, but her covers will make a lot of people want to check out the originals = more rock/metal fans on the planet. It is American daytime tv, after all. Honestly, her cover is better than that odd "Blacklist" album😄.

[@Ricky48888]

Why all the hate. You don't know anything that Kelly does. Kelly has one of the best voices around. She always does things live. First time they did a Mettalica song on the show. Give her some credit, they do this every episode!

[@MasterPpv]

He almost entirely gave her love for it and consistently said they were doing something cool; just that he had ideas for how it could be even cooler?

[@stephaniewade2973]

​@@MasterPpvno, he really didn't. Did you not watch this video?

[@MasterPpv]

@@stephaniewade2973 Oh I watched it, all right, but you very clearly did not. Shall we? I'll split this up into multiple replies since it'd be far too long otherwise. 0:42 - "It kinda throws me off a little bit, and I don't mean that in a bad way; I mean that in actually an interesting way" - could be interpreted as ambiguous or negative if you want to assume that only the first half is true and cynically discount the second half. But we're 40 seconds in, so I'd say cool your jets and take the words at face value first before you assume that he's masking his true intent in bad faith. 1:15 - "I'm assuming they probably didn't put a ton of love into this; they probably have to whip it together within 24 hours, I'm assuming" - a negative assumption, but immediately gives Kelly and her team grace by explaining that he understand what the most likely and logical reason would be for this not having the same kind of care and quality of a proper release that has been practiced, honed, and perfected. If anything, he's pretty clearly acting in *good* faith here and actively adding caveats to his negative statements, showing that he clearly understands why certain choices may have been made and that he's not going to lambast them for it. 1:37 - "Already, I'm very intrigued. I love this spin on what is supposed to be this brutal defeatism of the original Sad But True being turned on its head with this very vulnerable defeatism. It's the same core idea, but completely re-presented from a different perspective, which I really like, actually. Kelly Clarkson's voice is killer so far; I also like the melody changes here, as well" - do I actually need to qualify this for you? 2:45 - "That doesn't feel like a chorus melody to me; that feels like a pre-chorus melody, if that makes any sense. I do like that the piano just goes to really dark, low, standard chords and then just kind of does little voice leading shifts to signify the chord changes; I think that actually feels really good. It gets this dark, haunting, ominous feeling across without having to do the big heavy electric guitars. (*brief singing*) When she spanks that note? Mm, delicious! Good job Kelly; that's awesome!" - Straightforwardly analytical, and pretty much entirely positive in the parts where it veers from analysis and into opinion. 3:14 - "And then it comes in with the "metal" instrumentation, and I'm like, 'Noooo! Nooo, this could've been so cool as a dark pop ballad! This could've been so cool!' This is where it actually starts to really disappoint me" - in essence he actually really liked what they were doing with the cover, taking the original and recontextualizing it with a new, different and unique perspective, and he only started to dislike it when they veered *away* from that and toward a more straightforward cover.

[@MasterPpv]

@@stephaniewade2973 (Part 2) 3:35 - "Disgusting. Absolutely fucking disgusting. Gnarly!" - I can see how, if English isn't your first language, you might take these words at face value and think this was a negative statement, but he literally already said he loved when she hit this note and complimented it before, so from context it's pretty obvious that he means this as a positive. He even plays it a THIRD time just to enjoy it. 4:04 - "I appreciate the fact that Kelly wants to play to her vocal strengths as a performer; I don't love all of the melody changes. It kind of takes away from the theming of the original song, and kind of just paints it with a generically pentatonic soul-run vibe. And again, it's Kellyoke, so she's probably just kinda whipping it out on the spot, most likely; I don't think they put a ton of love into this. I do like that she's showcasing her talent, but idk, knowing the original, it's not connecting the same" - the most critical he's been so far, and he's literally STILL giving caveats as to why every bit or piece that he's not liking out of it may have been done the way it was. And even in all of the critical points, he's still being very clear that he's liking Kelly's voice and performance; it's things like composition and arrangement that he's having an issue with at the moment. 4:41 - "Okay, and then we gotta talk about these guitars. (*plays more of the video*) It's just so not a good metal tone. It's not a terrible tone; it's an okay hard rock tone, if I was playing hard rock in the 90s (*laughing*)" - biggest negative statement of the video, and it's the guitar tone. Literally, that's it. AND EVEN HERE, he still clarifies that it's not the tone itself is bad; it just doesn't fit for this song. Is the last joke maybe a little mean at their expense? Sure, could do without, maybe. Hardly would call that hate though, and also, he's still almost exclusively said good things about Kelly's performance. 5:34 - "(*compare and contrast*) And then you come over to this, and it's a very midrange-y, wrong amplifier, pre-amp... not a whole lot of low end. That works okay if you're not doing metal. For metal, this ain't it, especially for this iconic Metallica riff - one of the most iconic metal riffs of all time" - giving a more fully thought out, detailed explanation of *why* he doesn't like the guitar tone, instead of just saying that it's bad or horrible or garbage or the other kinds of things people on the internet say when they mildly dislike something or are mostly indifferent. 5:59 - "So like I said, they went from D and then they transposed that up to F#, so already, you're losing the low end; you're most likely fretting everything. Like, if we took a look at the bass guy here, he's all chilling way up near the top of his neck on a- sorry, should say middle of his neck on a 4-string. That's not where you wanna be on a big, heavy riff song! You wanna have as many open notes as possible to let that boy RING and maximize the brang and the purr in those mids. Which means the guitarists is almost certainly chilling on his second fret, almost certainly" - more detailed analysis. Again, when talking about a part of the cover that he doesn't like, he's being very detailed and specific about what he has and issue with and why. By the way, I personally disagree with his criticism of the guitar tone when placed in context of the audience of Kelly's show, because this is already way darker of a guitar tone than 99 percent of them are going to be comfortable with, so she and her team are probably already pushing what they can get away with. But if you remove that context and look at it just purely musically, then I have to agree with him.

[@MasterPpv]

@@stephaniewade2973 (Part 3) 6:33 - "So already, just by transposing it, you're taking away a bunch of low end that this riff really needs; this is kind of the fundamental thing. In my opinion, if you're going to cover a song, you need to understand what made it great to begin with, and it's not the riff writing in the sense of like, 'man, these melodies in these riffs were great; the rhythms in these riffs were great' - it all worked because the tone, the tambor, was just *massive*, and thick, and low, and bludgeoning, and this so misses that. This could sound decent if they covered, like, Iron Maiden! I would say that. I mean, the bass tone and the guitar tone are fine, but they're not Sad But True fine" - okay, we're pretty much done with the negative parts of the criticism, and through this entire thing, he has pretty much only criticized things like the bass and guitar tones, and the composition and arrangement. He has been almost exclusively positive toward Kelly herself, and even when it came to the negative bits, namely the arrangement / composition stuff, he actually LIKED when they changed it and were putting a new spin on the song, and he only started to have criticisms once they reverted to a more traditional, straightforward cover. And even when he fully criticized things, such as the tones, he STILL made it a point to say that it's only because the tones don't fit *for this song*, and that they're find tones in general. 7:19 - "And again, I imagine they threw this together really quick; they probably didn't wanna overthink it and I totally get that (...) I actually would have been WAY more interested if they did a whole reinterpretation with this dark, sad girl kind of piano pop ballad type of thing, or like a soul ballad type of thing. That would've been *chef's kiss* delicious; I wish they would've kept going with that, but it's OK" - Yet again, he praises the parts where they were actually reimagining the song in a transformative and original way. In short, he's saying that he wishes they actually got to spend more time on this and really refine it, because he's legitimately interested in the uniqueness of what they created in those earlier parts. How. Is. This. Hate. 7:49 - "Her vocal performance kicks ass" - giving Kelly her flowers AGAIN, by the way. 8:02 - "Ooh, okay! I do like that they got either track flown in there or they have the keyboardist - the piano player - actually doing that little (*noise*) thing in the background. All right, they put some thought, some love into this, all right! (*plays*) Okay, I'm gonna assume that's just a track that they have flying in, cause I saw what the pianist is doing, and he's playing something that no one's listening to; it's muted" - got actively excited when he noticed something in the mix that caught his ear. Disappointed when it wasn't coming from the actual pianist, but still pointed out that they did a cool thing even if it was automated and really small. If you really want, I can do the rest of it with the outro and everything too, where he yet again gives everybody some direct praise with regard to their performances, gives Kelly specifically some love for even attempting this song and bringing some light on it with a mainstream audience, and drops a few notes about what he'd like to see if they ever did another rendition. In basically every instance where he gave negative criticism, he either explained in detail what about it he didn't like and why, gave caveats to explain why those choices may have been reasonably made, or both. And when it came to Kelly's performance itself, he repeatedly and consistently gave her direct compliments. You're most likely never going to read any of this, but if you do, I'd love to see what you have to say afterward. Go ahead, I'll keep an eye out.

[@popcorn_showers]

Still waiting for the continuation of the Meaning of Music docu-style thing you did. That was a hefty big boy meal that opened my eyes to how you're not just funny but have a deep intellectual side. However for the meantime your reaction videos are sufficient to keep me from starving.

[@ExploringwithCole]

I’m a Kelly Clarkson fan and also a Metalhead.

[@SnakePit6517]

While I think her vocal cover was really good, no vocal cover I’ve seen will ever come close to Snoop Dogg’s.

[@niqisicks1621]

So glad i followed you.

[@MisterTee]

I think she did a good job on it. What really stuck out to me is how much weight she has lost…good on her

[@loweffortproductions1985]

Song suggestion Saturday but true

[@aibe1994]

should've stuck to the darker piano I totally agree it's sat but true 😔 either way it was an awesome performance your feedback was insanely valid 🤘🏻

[@IOxyrinchus]

“You need to understand what made it awesome to begin with” is ironically what A Day To Remember had when they covered one of her songs, Since U Been Gone. They kept the top line melody mostly the same while allowing room for their own creative expression. I feel like in this case Kelly took too many creative liberties with the main melody in this case

[@rirashid88]

I'm a huge Kelly Clarkson fan and she always sounds good no matter what. But I do agree with you, changing the arrangement doesn't always work out. It sounded great either way, but it definitely changed the tone of the original song imo

[@x--LeethaL--x]

Dunnn, dut dunnee dunnaa, dunnnEE DUNNA ... " YEAHHHH, "SAT BUT TRUEE".. DUN, dunnn, dunnneeee udnnnna

[@shockt9610]

You could keep it in F# if you did a 7 string with the same tuning Spiritbox uses

[@badm0t0rf1nger]

Totally agree they should have stuck with the moody girl Tori Amos -esque composition for this.... could've been a *very* cool thing. But then, anything she does in this setting needs to have some kind of bop for the studio audience - they are not in that studio for *art* !! Clarkson remains a *top-tier* vocalist tho, can sing pretty much anything, & can do so *live* at the drop of a hat. :)

[@flaviocostareal]

One of the things I notice most about Americans in general is that rockers and those who like country are the ones who complain the most about the covers that Kelly does. I think that's a shame. Not every female artist would take the trouble to sing songs that are not even in her comfort zone. That's a shame. And look, she only has a few hours, sometimes minutes, to write the song she's going to sing... One song a day.

[@heidirosenz]

100% agree would’ve worked better as a pop ballad.

[@theradgamer9207]

You know what, that start isn’t bad, I’d be interested to hear acapella.

[@dougmacaulay3105]

Agree if your going to do it do it different.

[@markwildt5728]

The guitar tone reminds me of that Christina Aguilera song Fighter... Always thought that would have been a good song to do a metal cover to.

[@Finnishgirl484]

She has great covers there are so many as she does one every show. My favorites have been Dream on and seven nation army. Also just a girl is really different from the orginal.

[@PewciSlayer]

It sounds like a pop country song now.

[@jond5148]

A better version than Metallica

[@travisspaulding2222]

Pop...country...Is there really a difference anymore?

[@BecomeTheKnight]

Good point lol

[@mrbungle3310]

odd pick for a song but im impressed i agree it would have been better if she kept it a ballad...it went from top tier to highschool band level

[@mykeread]

I thought this was better than many of the covers I’ve heard, with its own sort of vibe, and from Kelly who can sing her @$$ off. 10/10

[@Jayteaseepiirturi]

I only came across this thing today and... let me tell you, Sad But True is a yawn moment for me at a Metallica show. This giave the song a new life for me. Kelly's take was actually pretty awesome in the beginning. As for the second verse, it would've worked with the guitars had they brought in the flair from the first verse. It would have had a chance of becoming a lovely pop rock ordeal! I think Kelly and co were on to something there. It needs more development.

[@matthewhagner7803]

She doesn’t pick the song, the people who are coming to the show submit what they want and they have to do that

[@tracigreen4786]

What’s up with everyone saying sat but true? Is there some kind of meaning behind this or is this just bad spelling for such a simple word?

[@MasterPpv]

Just a typo when he originally uploaded the video. Of course he got memed on for it until he edited it.

[@Illegallycopyrighted]

Was not expecting such positivity…

[@NxLvB4]

She does cover songs to open every show.

[@jellytroid]

Sad that she covered the song, true that she did indeed cover the song

[@paperlionkid1787]

I'm here for your expertise...

[@Bannermann]

Sounds like one of those Modern James Bond Themes.

[@AidanArmstrong04]

Still doesn’t come close to Snoop Dogg’s cover, that version lives rent free in my head forever

[@MKDumas1981]

Sad But Trooh wa-ah-ah-ah?

[@GMWhiting]

Shat but True

[@stephencostello7947]

I'd be very interested to hear Floor Jansen from Nightwish sing this version (With beefed up tone)

[@MiguelHdez.08]

You want dark girl.. listen to her cover of just a girl by no doubt.

[@jamesking9807]

The intro brings to mind Tori Amos doing 'Raining Blood'.

[@MKDumas1981]

Okay, so, Kelly Clarkson's "Sad But True", or Avril Lavigne's "Fuel"?

[@mattmann370]

Best cover of Metallica by a pop artist is Miley Cyrus doing Nothing Else Matters. Its incredible! This is pretty good too

[@melv-lorgoldmanbringerofmoles]

Sat but who

[@Evs-xg2gt]

Sam fender does a great cover of this song

[@tylerbrittan593]

Sat but stand!!

[@rusbell2981]

This is just so sat

[@travisspaulding2222]

The intro almost reminds me of Tori Amos' version of Raining Blood

[@RhondaWebster-qx8tl]

It’s sad that Kelly clarkson covered it but it’s true

[@MrPAULONEAL]

She makes it sound like an Evanescence song...

[@theopinson3851]

I’ll say this and I don’t care what the consequences are: the best version of this song (including Metallica’s) is by Nickelback.

[@BecomeTheKnight]

They did a great job

[@Ryo7_7]

They should've definitely used the same key. Kelly's voice is great but yea lol.

[@adamaffer4378]

They should've tuned down to F# standard instead

[@ioeee7563]

Kelly once performed with Steel Panther, while being intoxicated. She sounded really awful.

[@samoz6865]

This reminds me of Ghost's version of Enter Sandman. Edit: Ghost did it better.

[@Diangelo-l1o]

Metalica sold out along time ago.

[@slashsnakepit1992]

Still better than cover of Unforgiven by Stephanie Heizmann

[@bryanamaro1209]

Hey mike

[@marchannan7270]

Kate Hudson Vasoline

[@_Erendis]

It was better than Avril Lavigne performing Fuel, but that's it.

[@MetalClown1974]

I couldn't even hear the bass in this cover.

[@B0SSWATTS]

L take.

[@MrPAULONEAL]

So it is sad but true...

[@JonathonMyers-x4n]

Regardless if you’re out of touch, can you do some research? Def aren’t selling anyone here to stay cause you just keep saying “I dont know”…. We’ll figure something out and have an actual opinion

[@BecomeTheKnight]

I guess we'll just discard all of the opinions I shared in the video....ok