The Kelly Clarkson Show just brought on Anne Hathaway to promote her new WeWork series WeCrashed and indulge in the usual daytime talk show foibles. It was pretty standard stuff — Hathaway and Clarkson are pros at this sort of thing — until they kicked off a game of “Sing That Name That Tune,” and things take a turn for the spectacular. In the game, the Clarkson Show band plays a few opening notes of a hit song and whoever recognizes it and jumps on the karaoke mic first wins.
You may think Clarkson’s got this in the bag — after all, she was the first American Idol, meaning she started her career on essentially being the best karaoke competitor America had ever seen. But remember, Hathaway is a born theater kid and as sharp as Clarkson is, any theater kid is going to be supremely competitive at a game like this. Clarkson was already trailing and asked her band for a sandbag. They delivered and, well, just watch:
What a movie. What a great 90 seconds. From Hathaway’s untouchable confidence to Clarkson’s sudden, shocking dismay, realizing the crushing depth of her defeat. To be beat to the buzzer on your own iconic karaoke song is itself pretty iconic so, in a way, Clarkson sort of won this round. Which isn’t to say that Hathaway didn’t also win because anyone who’s ever tried to karaoke “Since U Been Gone” knows it is no mean feat. That first “yeah-yeah!” is vital to the performance and Hathaway sticks the karaoke equivalent of a double axel here.
And look, Hathaway is a good actor but even she isn’t terribly convincing in her humble acknowledgement of the Clarkson Supremacy at the end. Thankfully for Clarkson, she still has her show’s recurring segment “Kellyoke” to redeem herself — or so we hope.
