OlderSat, 19 April 2008 at 10:35 pm
Kelly Clarkson Sings “Ave Maria” For the Pope
Kelly Clarkson, the first season’s winner of American Idol, sings a rousing rendition of the hymn “Ave Maria” for Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York on Saturday.
About 25,000 young worshippers rallied for the Popemobile (and Kelly).
“I was so excited to be asked to sing for the Pope,” Kelly. “I grew up singing church music, and it’s always been a dream of mine to perform ‘Ave Maria.’ To have that dream come true on such a special occasion is truly a blessing.”
Watch the video below of Kelly belting out “Ave Maria”!
Kelly Clarkson Sings “Ave Maria” For the Pope
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To all the haters and the nitpickers - find me another singer today would would have sung this better.
I’m not a Kelly Clarkson fan by any means but that was chillingly beautiful. She did a great job. Stop picking it apart.
Actually Kelly is a classically trained singer, so contrary to some people’s beliefs, she does and did know how to sing it properly. The quality of her voice is really a subjective matter depending on if you like the raspiness of it. I like it and think it’s very soulful. This was a youth event set in America and I think singing it in a slightly more modern way and in English was fitting for the occassion and location. The dress….well lets face it, I’m obsessed with kelly, but her stylist has GOT TO GO…i liked how she looked…but it was cut a little low. But, that is mainly the stylists fault. And in conclusion, if the pope stood and welcomed her over, and the fans roared in amazement…then who is anyone to criticize kelly. And especially in this event, the singing of any artists isn’t for the general public…it’s a song being sung to God, so let him be the judge.
yes desyner21, the song was for God, not for you or for me or for the numbers above, by the way, pope likes this version and that was the main reason why kelly changed it to this, and I may say was the right choice, for young people who was there and million around the world and liked it, was the right choice.
Some of you are so stupid. YOUTH RALLY…..KELLY CLARKSON makes perfect sense here. Watch the interviews on Fox and CNN….those kids were really excited to see her sing ans she did a great job. Who cares what she’s wearing and what she looks like. She made a boring song sound interesting. I don’t care if you’re a classically trained opera singer or what. Ave Maria is boring and Kelly did a great job with it. Learned Latin just to sing it and didn’t miss one single note. BTW dumbbutts….looks like the Pope was pleased with her version. Why don’t some of you go get lives? PATHETIC.
Over the years, I have heard quite a few singers attempt this classic song. Sometimes a song should be left alone with regards to tempo, pitch, etc. KC did okay with it — It could have been worse…
What if another another “poptart” [exception: Christina Aguilara may have done a great job, who knows] had been tagged to do it?
People are creatures of habit and have our own tastes when it comes to who we like as actors; what books we love reading; what foods we love to eat and so on.
My favorite performances of “Ave Maria” are –
Female: Celine Dion
Male: Aaron Neville
He did a live performance of it in the 80’s that was televised on CBS for the “Prince’s Trust” {I think} with Charles and Diana in attendance — MY GOD! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! His was a long version and got cut off for a commercial. Angry phone calls to the studio went on a night long and was picked up by news agencies. It caused quite a kafuffle with the network, to say the least. I am still waiting for it to turn up in some DVD collection somewhere…
That’s just my taste, and most importantly, my choice.
Goodnight
the weight comments are really uncalled for…if she were to be really skinny, some of you would have called her anorexic already. to me she looks healthy, and i agree with #46 everyone always criticizes her for one reason or another, she never wins. same goes for other artists too.
I thought her rendition of the song was very moving and very beautiful. Kelly has always been open about her religious side, so I’m sure this was an amazing experience for her. What an honor to be asked to do this.
Her ave Maria was fantastic if you ask me.
Who cares about her stylist, or who else can sing this song well. Fact is she was asked, and she did a really great job! That voice of hers is one beautiful thing…
she sounded soooo amazing!!! SO proud of her :)
i don’t think particularly the rendition of this arrangement, the whole thing just sounds rushed and loses its sacredness (possibly due to time constraint). but BOY OH BOY, this is definitely what kelly is born for. her performance reminds me of celine dion and lara fabian. she should really ditch the sugary pop crap. she’s too good for it. i’m so glad she got to do this performance. to “yikes”, each artist has his/her own rendition and interpretation. unfortunately, some has less charm than others. but i definitely this route is a very viable possibility that kelly should consider.
bob - kelly isn’t catholic, she’s baptist.
she did amazing and the pope gave her a standing ovation at the end!
im christian so i dont get the pope…to me he it just another guy…which is true thats who he is…just another guy so i dont get why people treat him like royalty…but i do think kelly did a great job!!
again, this version of Ave Maria is the version that pope had heard before and liked it and people told kelly that, so she changed it because she was going to perfomance the OLD VERSION, by the way she did an amazing job with it, young people like it is fresh and new is right for young people, and kelly sung there because she was asked, she was the first artist in mind when they took the responsability to book the artist in USA, becasue her sucess, without scandals and being a role model as a person. just read the news.
What are all these idiots talking about ‘pop’ rendition. It was as operatic and reverent it could sound without being forced. It was a beautiful hybrid of the two, which worked as wonderful compromised that did what was asked of her.
People are just posturing, it’s repulsive snobbery of the highest degree. Clarkson blew this one out of the park, and I don’t even usually like her.
All these would-be-opera critics need to step off because nothing say is of any interest, nor has any baring on how fantastic this performance was.
grace a true christian walks the walk and respects a true man of god…
i cannot understand how people who profess to be so called christians bash catholics and the pope and only stick to their fundamentalist beliefs and disregard other faith and tradition…
i am a proud catholic and for one thig we never judge people of other faiths and it made me very proud to see how they (from the presdent) have warmly welcomed the pope and acknowledged is important presence as a world spiritual leader….am sure all the pope’s naysayers are screaming in envy and anger…
She did a great job with the song. And this is coming from someone who’s not big Kelly fan.
WOW, that last note, just WOW.
Kelly was ama-za-zing & made her fans proud!!
Excellent. Thank you so much Jared for sharing this. I was watching the live coverage with the Pope but I missed this part. Kelly did an amazing job as that is a difficult song to sing. But, what a major honor for her to be asked to perform for the Pope.
I thought she did really great. I dont know why people are bashing her for so many different reasons. I bet your just jealous cause your favorite singer didnt get to sing it. That last note was amazing. I thought she was going to start cracking or lose it. She did a good job.
Come on, people. She was chosen specifically and did a great job. Keep in mind that she’s not a professional opera singer, so she wouldn’t have done a perfect job since it’s not her thing. If they’d wanted a professional, they should’ve asked for one. In my opinion, she sang amazing.
And another thing, the pope liked it, he blessed her, so stop dissing it and just move on.
she did absolutely phenomenal!
she looked great too.
and i wished that the Pope saw her rally concert in the beginning too lol.
It seems that some people never miss an opportunity to bash kelly Clarkson.
She sang that song amazingly well. Pop version? what pop music are you guys listening to?
Kelly’s voice is probably the most versatile of any contemproary female singer around right now. There doesn’t seem to be anything she can’t sing and make it sound authentic.
The dress? I thought it was lovely. she had her hair pulled back tastefully and she looked very appropriate.
“The Holy Father likes her song.”
That needs to be said again.
Also with that said, I’m not a huge fan of Kelly’s, but I do respect her as a person very much. I think she did terrific. I believe she was ‘the’ perfect choice to sing for the Pope.
Kelly Clarkson was not good. The song must be sung in bel canto in some parts and Kelly could not pull it off. Her rendition is crap in comparison to Maria Callas, Leontyne Price, and Renata Tebaldi’s and for her to sing in front of him, I don’t know if he wanted to cringe or what. Was she the only Catholic singer in the USA that would sing in front of him? She’s good as a pop rock singer, but stay away from opera arias. She also looked big and although she isn’t the best looking person in the world, she could have wore something with sleeves. Her arms look dwarf. I give this performance a 4.5 at best.
Even her pronounciation of the lyric was choppy and terrible. The end note is something that any coloratura and even mezzo (because it wasn’t that fluid and high) can hit. That means nothing. She didn’t even extend it because she’s just not that good of a singer. She should only stick to pop rock and stay away from opera arias.
Kelly did amazing. And you can’t compare her to opera singers cause she’s not an opera singer. It was a YOUTH rally and having a profesional opera singer to sing it the classical way wouldn’t have been the best choice. Like someone said earlier, if they wanted an opera singer they would have asked one, but they thought kelly would fit perfectly given the fact that it was for young people. She’s the best vocalist of her generation, can you think of any other young singer that could have done it better? I can’t. And the pope loved it.
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