Kelly Clarkson is jumping on the recent Celine Dion challenge, but on her own terms. On Friday (Jan. 28), the singer/talk-show host opened up The Kelly Clarkson Show with a stunning cover of Dion’s version of “I Drove All Night.”
“I had to escape, the city was sticky and cruel/ Maybe I should have called you first/ But I was dying to get to you/ I was dreaming while I drove/ The long straight road ahead,” the former The Voice coach sang in the first verse, with the help of her backing band. “Could taste your sweet kisses, your arms open wide/ This fever for you was just burning me up inside.”
The song then builds up to a crescendo, with Clarkson’s powerful vocals soaring over the chorus with ease. “I drove all night to get to you/ Is that all right?” she belted, adding in her signature runs and riffs to make the track her own. “I drove all night crept in your room/ Woke you from your sleep to make love to you/ Is that all right?/ I drove all night.”
Clarkson is the most recent in a string of celebrities having fun with Dion’s iconic tracks. On TikTok, singer-actress Mandy Moore took a hilarious stab at the viral “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” lip-synch challenge while on the set of This Is Us and dressed as the aged-up version of her show character, Rebecca Peterson. Moore’s take on the challenge came after crooner Michael Bublé earned praise from Dion for his Canadian, hockey-centric take on the TikTok challenge.
“I Drove All Night” — which was originally written by songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly for Roy Orbison — was released as the lead single for Dion’s eighth English-language album, One Heart, in 2003. The track peaked at No. 45 and enjoyed 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100.
Listen to Clarkson’s rendition of “I Drove All Night” below.