Kelly Clarkson has joked she can retire now after Céline Dion praised her cover of My Heart Will Go On.
Last month, the Because of You hitmaker performed Céline’s song, originally used as the theme for the 1997 film Titanic, as part of the “Kellyoke” segment of her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show.
On Tuesday, Céline took to Instagram to share a video in which she commended Kelly’s performance, calling it “absolutely incredible”.
In response, the TV host posted a response in which she thanked the Canadian superstar for her support.
“You have no idea how much you even noticing my existence means to me!” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank you so much for being such an amazing example of true passion and being one of the greatest vocalists of all time that I am still, to this day, inspired by.”
In addition, Kelly shared a video in which she described how she felt as if she had redeemed herself as she wasn’t thrilled with her rendition of Céline’s song I Surrender when she was a contestant on the first season of American Idol in 2002.
“Twenty-two years ago on American Idol, I got laryngitis. I had to sing Céline Dion’s I Surrender All (sic). I bawl that night because I’m just mortified that Céline Dion is going to see this performance. I could have cared less about votes at that point. I just didn’t want to see Céline see or hear this because it was so bad, because I was sick,” she recounted. “Cut to 22 years later, I finally got a Céline Dion performance and I felt like I sang it all right, you know?
“I got to honour someone who is such a hero to me vocally, like she is one of my main inspirations of why I’m a singer. And she watched it and I did good. And I feel like I made my 19-year-old self very proud. That’s what I did,” the 42-year-old added.
To conclude, Kelly joked: “I might watch (Céline’s video) before bed, because she said my name. She said she loves me… It’s like one of my… like I can quit now in life. I’m retiring. Good night.”
