Kelly Clarkson covers Metallica's Sad But True: It has never sounded so angelic

Kelly Clarkson singing Sad But True — (Image credit: The Kelly Clarkson Show)

Less than two weeks after Kelly Clarkson serenaded Ann and Nancy Wilson with a version of Heart's Crazy On You on her daytime TV show, the former American Idol star has provided further evidence of her love of rock.

On her most recent broadcast, Clarkson used the 'Kellyoke' portion of her show to sing a version of Metallica's Sad But True, kicking it off in the style of a mournful piano ballad before hitting the kind of high note around the 45-second mark that Papa Het can only dream of.

The decision to perform Sad But True appears to have been made earlier in the year, when Australian actress Isla Fisher appeared on Clarkson's show and the pair discussed the former Home & Away/Arrested Development star's love of Metallica.

Clarkson: "I love that you love Metallica."

Fisher: "I know. I love Metallica."

Clarkson: "Now I'm rethinking my vinyl I gave you. I'm like, I didn't know."

Fisher: "That's a little secret, OK?"

Clarkson: "Yeah, I love Metallica as well. And we should cover something Metallica."

Fisher: "Yeah, oh my gosh, you should. You should do Sad But True. Your voice would be amazing."

Clarkson: "OK, fine, done. OK. Sad But True, someone write it down."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how TV is made.

The Kellyoke section of the show has seen Clarkson make several forays into the rock arena, including covers of Whitesnake's Here I Go Again, Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun, Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees, Blink-182's All The Small Things and Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated) by The Offspring.

Metallica's M72 World Tour resumes at the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany, on May 24. Full dates below.

Metallica: 2024 tour dates

May 24: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
May 26: Munich Olympiastadion, Germany
May 29: Milan I-Days Festival, Italy
Jun 01: Vienna Racino Rocks Festival, Austria
Jun 07: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland
Jun 09: Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Finland
Jun 14: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, Denmark
Jun 16: Copenhagen Parken Stadium, Denmark
Jun 26: Oslo Tons Of Rock Festival, Norway
Jun 29: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jul 05: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 07: Warsaw PGE Narodowy, Poland
Jul 12: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain
Jul 14: Madrid Estadio Cívitas Metropolitano, Spain

Aug 02: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 04: Foxborough Gillette Stadium, MA, USA
Aug 09: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 11: Chicago Soldier Field, IL, USA
Aug 16: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 18: Minneapolis US Bank Stadium, MN, USA
Aug 23: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 25: Edmonton Commonwealth Stadium, Canada
Aug 30: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 01: Seattle Lumen Field, WA, USA
Sep 20: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 22: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 27: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico
Sep 29: Mexico City Foro Sol, Mexico

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Artists

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.