Kelly Clarkson Gives Death Cab for Cutie’s ‘You Are a Tourist’ a Spin for Kellyoke: Watch

Ever felt “just like a tourist in the city you were born?” Kelly Clarkson can relate, as she covered Death Cab for Cutie‘s 2011 track “You Are a Tourist” for The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s opening Kellyoke segment on Friday (March 3).

Accompanied by her band Y’all, the three-time Grammy winner put her own peaceful spin on the alternative track, using her signature belt to execute soaring high notes and stunning vibrato moments. “‘Cause when you find yourself a villain/ In the story you have written/ It’s plain to see/ That sometimes the best intentions/ Are in need of redemption/ Would you agree/ If so, please show me,” Clarkson passionately sang on her rendition of the track.

“You Are a Tourist” was released as the first single from Death Cab for Cutie’s seventh studio album, Codes and Keys, in 2011. The track topped Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart, one of the band’s now eight No. 1s on the tally.

Clarkson’s cover of Death Cab‘s hit comes at an appropriate time, as the band just collected its eighth Adult Alternative Airplay chart-topper with “Pepper,” which crowns the chart dated March 11. The single marked the band’s second No. 1 in a row, following the eight-week ruler “Here to Forever,” which led in August-October 2022.

Listen to Clarkson cover Death Cab for Cutie’s “You Are a Tourist” for the latest Kellyoke in the video above.

Starr Bowenbank

Billboard