Oct 17 2005 07:44 PM ET

On the Scene: Kelly Clarkson at Madison Square Garden

Categories: American Idol

15514__kelly_lKelly Clarkson (a.k.a. my favorite American Idol) held court Sunday night for a sold-out crowd at the theater at New York’s Madison Square Garden. That is, once she showed up. She was late. Very late. Fortunately, the evening’s sponsors (Samsung and T-Mobile) had the foresight to allow the crowd to entertain themselves by sending text messages to a number that would project them on to the theater’s Jumbotron screens. My five faves:

5. If ur from Jersey put ur hands in the air
4. We’re missing Desperate Housewives
3. Make some noise if ur mom brought u here
2. Um, Kelly, it’s a school night

And the all-time best TM of the night…

1. Is Justin Guarini opening?

A gazillion TMs later, the show began. Now, I’m not afraid to admit that I love Kelly Clarkson. Some would even call it a crush. My top five reasons why I love the Texan cutie:

5. Her fans don’t try to make up weird names for themselves (No Clarksonsanddaughters to be had…).
4. She can actually sing! Her rendition of Annie Lennox’s 1992 hit ”Why” had a crowd of teenagers singing along to every word.
3. U2: $160 a ticket. Clarkson: a mere $35 a pop.
2. The crowd (a mix of teens, parents of teens, and, er, me) was all appropriately dressed. No visible bellybuttons anywhere.
1. Girlfriend is down with her peeps. Not only did she accept (and immediately dress herself in) gifts from the audience — more on that later — but in lieu of ending the concert in a puff of smoke, Kelly hung out at the front of the stage to sign autographs.

But well, sometimes, the girl worries me. My top five reasons why:

5. If and when your fans throw you, say, a red trucker hat, a pink cowboy hat, or a camouflage AC/DC shirt, thank them profusely, hand them off to a roadie, but for Seacrest’s sake, Kelly, don’t put them on. Putting aside basic hygiene for a minute, trucker hats are so 2004 – even if it does have your name on it.
4. I love that K.C. has her vanity in check, but doesn’t the blond Kelly kind of look like a less shapely Tara Reid? I’m just saying…
3. You only have two albums — and you’re already forgetting the words.
2. I know you won two Moonmen at the MTV VMAs in August (congrats, btw, you totally deserved to win), but starting the concert an hour late? Half your audience has a curfew, the other half are old and we (I mean, they) aren’t used to staying up this late.
1. You know how you’re supposed to take off one accessory before leaving the house? Two words: Madonna glove.

Okay, G2G. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves about Miss Independent. TTYL.

Comments (1-22) of 22 Add your comment

  • stereogum

    Since U Been, Uh, Waitasec, I…Um…Line?

    EW’s Popwatch writes up Sunday’s Kelly Clarkson concert and counts the top 5 things that worry them about Smelly Kelly: she’s forgetting the words to her songs, and her “Madonna glove.” To be fair, they also name 5 things that…

  • J.

    That’s right she’s your favourite American Idol. Who the hell else? Fantasia? Clay? Please.

  • Daniel

    Starting a concert an hour late is awful. No matter how much you say you love your fans, it’s still incredibly unprofessional. A half-hour late is acceptable, but c’mon Clarkson, get a friggin’ watch or something.

  • Mike

    Give the girl some credit. I’m sure she didn’t show up late to piss everyone off. Maybe she was napping? Wishful thinking, I know.

  • M

    She didn’t start an hour late, they had an opening act for 45 minutes, some boring ass DJ.

  • zach

    Good thing the show did not start late. The would have been unprofessional.
    Kelly does not look like Tara Reid, thank God! I do prefer the wavy hair though.
    LOL, I love that she puts on any and every piece of clothing she receives at her shows. It’s funny stuff. Kel is not known for her fashion sense anyway, so it doesn’t matter.

  • Christine

    Wasn’t it at Hammerstein Ballroom (not the Theater at MSG)?

  • Samantha

    I was there and the show was fantastic. You seem to be stuck on the fact that she showed up late. She did not show up late. She was there hours before the show. For reasons unknown they didn’t let her on stage til 9. Kelly clarkson is unbelievable live and I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m no teenager either.

  • Punky

    Girl was not late, we were told that the show would start at 9. The sponser had to show off their wares with the text messaging thingie an hour before the show started. She was there a few hours early doing her sound check.
    Also I love that she puts on the stuff the fans throw up to her, shows that she loves her fans and the trouble they go through getting all these crazy things for her to wear.
    She’s a crazy, lovable chick anyhow!

  • faith hill

    kelly clarkson is awesome…she can actually sing and doesnt put on this whole ‘celebrity’ thing and pull stunts just to get in the tabloids (jessica) carrie underwood reminds me of kelly

  • kyra

    Wow, an hour wait is a long time especially considering that her show is only about that long. What happened with her opening act/boyfriend? Are they no longer together?

  • Mike

    The show was awesome. Kelly rocked it out! She has an amazing voice. I agree with the TM’s, some were funny, but it got old…..where the hell is Goshen anyway? And I totally sw the Kelly/Tara Reid look alike contest on the big screen. Great show.

  • the cass

    yay! someone agrees with me. kelly is my fave idol too:
    http://mickeypsho.blogspot.com/2005/10/and-votes-go-to.html

  • JrsyGrl

    Wouldn’t that make her a MORE shapely Tara Reid? Skinny and/or fake ta-tas does not equal shapeliness. Kelly’s got a beautiful, curvy, natural body, and it’s obviously not holding her back.

  • N.

    Ok, several people have just written in that she was not late. She came on when she was allowed to come on. Get over it.

  • Chris Jones

    Kelly is THE AMERICAN IDOL! Nobody can even come close to her, esp that no talent Fantasia! I have seen her in concert twice and she really puts on a great show–girl can sing! And she really makes an effort to connect her audience and tells funny stories.
    And she does NOT look anything that plastic Tara Reid. Kelly is gorgeous and has a nice womanly figure–just b/c she’s not a size 2 doesn’t mean she isn’t hot. And that blond hair looks great!!

  • Lauren

    As one of the few people over 21 without a parental chaparone, I have to say I absolutely adored the show.
    Now, perhaps you haven’t been to a concert before, but most acts have an opening act. Kelly had an opening act…perhpas you missed her, she was a young woman standing behind a few turntables. Yes, the opening “act” with DJ AT (or whatever her name was) sucked. But Kelly wasn’t late. I had spoken to a friend who works at MSG beforehand. She told me the following “Dorrs ipen at 7. At 8pm a DJ will come on for an hour. Kelly will go on at 9 for roughly 75 minutes.” Which, when I checked my watch, it was 10:15. I understand that it was boring from 8-9…the DJ was supposed to get the crowd pumped. Unfortunatley, it just blew. But my girl was right on time.
    Not to mention, she was super sweet and fun by wearing gifts from her fans.

  • opc

    Wow, you guys really need to calm down about the whole was she late? or was she on time? thing. What one person interprets as on time, another may think is late. It’s called an opinion, people, and the writer is more than welcome to share her’s.

  • JasonHomey

    Girl can sing and I like her music a lot. Never thought I would say that about an Idol. But i agree about the hair, she was much cuter before the blonde. She is the girl next door and who wouldn’t like her?

  • kelly

    i want to look like kelly clarkson shes so pretty and i like her a lot

  • penash

    hey kelly has the best voice and she’s very pretty and cool and some of my friends say when i sing i sound like her but i don’t believe it and i’m from labrador canada

  • kiddy

    hey ya’ll my dream is to go to one of her concerts but that will neva happen and i have her cd’s and they are really good and i would love to meet her and i think i might go to canadian idol when im 16 and that way i’ll get to meet her i’m from canada i live in a native town

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