Review

Kelly Clarkson performed Friday at Pengrowth Saddledome. Attendance 7,000.

It was a big night out for girls, teens and the moms and dads who accompanied them Friday evening when the original American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson played to a relatively small but enthusiastic crowd of about 7,000 fans at Saddledome.

The 27-year-old Texan with the mighty pipes showed why she's managed to be one of the few Idol-types to carve out a decent career for herself years after her appearance on the reality TV talent show that first thrust her into the spotlight.

Kicking off her gig with strong renditions of All I Ever Wanted, Miss Independent and I Do Not Hook Up, well-crafted bubblegum pop rockers all, Clarkson, backed up by a slick 11-piece band, was impressive from the get go, her soulful voice leading the charge powerfully.

She worked the room admirably too, coaxing an impassioned singalong during Breakaway, and she had the crowd up and dancing during the Euro-poppy If I Can't You.

As for her best song Since U Been Gone - you know, the one where she decidedly out-Avriled pop-punk brat Avril Lavigne - it rocked, with young girls across the arena whipped into an air-punching froth.

If there was any real weaknesses early on it was in Clarkson's between song patter which seemed vaguely nervous and almost rushed. (The show itself was pretty rushed actually, at just under an hour-and-a-half).

Clarkson did loosen up considerably though at the half way point when she joked about "throwing down" with her fellow pop divas, like Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and Pink. She reckoned she could take them all on. Well, except Pink. "She'd kick my butt," Clarkson said.

Clarkson also deserves credit for trying to turn young girls on to great music with the covers she tackled.

Among them was Kings of Leon's Use Somebody, which was fairly tepid. However, Clarkson was right on the mark with her soulful, torchy version of Lies by garage blues rockers the Black Keys. Following that up with her sexy, expressive rendition of Patsy Cline's Walkin' After Midnight was the perfect touch, and a highlight of the night, hands down. Clarkson's big band take on the White Stripes Seven Nation Army was also surprisingly inspired.

Given her demographic, those are really ambitious choices. Good for her.

Clarkson's greatest win was that she came across as a legit pop star and not some TV creation.

It might not be entirely fair, but for most people that are really passionate about music, any artist who comes down the pipe with the word "Idol" attached to their resume has an automatic black mark against them.

For the hundreds of wannabe pop stars that we've met over the years, on the Idol shows and the like, the amount of quality music they've actually produced has been pathetic.

Idol mostly churns out TV stars and pretty pop packages that are all but empty when we unwrap them.

That's why when an artist gets past the Idol stigma and sticks around, thriving even, they've earned some respect.

Clarkson, who won the Idol crown way back in 2002, proved she's one of those rarities Friday at the Dome.

- hmccoy@theherald.canwest.com