Kelly Clarkson, Derek Hough to Perform at 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors
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Gloria Estefan is hosting The 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors on CBS this year. The ceremony will be broadcast on Sunday, June 6 from 8-10 p.m. ET. One of the big highlights of the event is Kelly Clarkson‘s performance of “The Dance” to pay tribute to honoree Garth Brooks.
Kelly Clarkson, Other Talent Show Celebrities Perform at 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors
People released a sneak peek of Clarkson’s emotional performance that left Brooks in tears. Last year on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the American Idol winner spoke about how the song has helped her get through her divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
“So I’m going through a divorce and there’s been like a lot of books and people always give you stuff to help, especially when you have kids and stuff,” Clarkson said during the episode. “And there’s so much shame and guilt.”
She has always been very open about her divorce process and how her main focus is her children. “The Dance” has inspired Clarkson to write a song about the divorce on her upcoming album.
“I couldn’t quite nail down the feeling,” she continued. “Like you don’t want to crap on it, like, you don’t want to say that [relationship] doesn’t count or matter, but you don’t know what to put in it because it didn’t work out like you wanted. So, anyway, I kid you not, I was listening to my playlist and ‘The Dance’ came on. And I was like, ‘No, that’s the thing. That’s it.'”
At the Kennedy Center Honors, Clarkson will have a mini American Idol reunion with Paula Abdul, one of the night’s presenters. Abdul will be presenting Debbie Allen with the honor. Allen once choreographed for Abdul and a plethora of other stars like Mariah Carey.
To honor Dick Van Dyke, Dancing with the Stars judge Derek Hough will be performing “Step In Time” and “Put On A Happy Face.” Other notable performers include Broadway star Aaron Tveit, actress Vanessa Hudgens, and The Masked Singer’s Gladys Knight.
