Kelly Clarkson and Jimmy Fallon Sing History of Duets

Singer and host cover "I Got You Babe," "Islands in the Stream," "Endless Love" and more on The Tonight Show

By Zach Johnson Mar 03, 2015 12:40 PMTags

It's a shame Jimmy Fallon isn't featured on Piece by Piece.

Kelly Clarkson stopped by NBC's Tonight Show to promote her new album Monday, where Fallon and the viewers agreed that she's "so great." One thing that confused the TV host, however, was that he recently read that Clarkson "has been having trouble finding people to do duets with her." He told the audience, "I don't understand what they're talking about. I would love to do a duet with Kelly Clarkson."

The "Heartbreak Song" singer then appeared on stage.

"Did somebody say 'duet?'" Clarkson asked. "Would you want to duet and sing with me?"

"Yes, I said 'duet,'" Fallon said. "I got you, babe!" Cue Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe."

Clarkson and Fallon performed a medley of hits, including Inez and Charlie Foxx's "Mockingbird"; Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's "Islands in the Stream"; Human League's "Don't You Want Me"; Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"; Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"; Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes' "Up Where We Belong"; Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville's "Don't Know Much"; Paula Abdul and The Wild Pair's "Opposite's Attract"; and Pink and Nate Ruess' "Just Give Me a Reason." The ended the set by singing Lionel Richie and Diana Ross' "Endless Love."

Though Clarkson sings "Run Run Run" with John Legend on Piece by Piece, the American Idol winner recently confessed to BBC Radio 1 that not many people want to work with her. "I honestly would collaborate with a lot of people, but everyone usually says no," she said. "I'm not kidding you. I have legitimately asked several people that I'm not going to call out, and that's cool, but I don't know," the three-time Grammy winner said. "I ask good people. I don't want to sing with crap people, so I mean, I ask people who are great vocalists, but I'm not going to point out anyone. I have asked several people. Sometimes I feel like I have the plague, or leprosy, they're like, 'If you get too close…' I don't know."

After musicians like Demi Lovato volunteered to work with her, the singer clarified her comments. "Ok, I was making a joke about people not singing with me! The press is really twisting this comment just FYI! No big deal. New story please," Clarkson tweeted Feb. 24. "Obviously my humor is not translating ha!"

Douglas Gorenstein/NBC

The tweets didn't resonate like her interview. "Oh my God, it was the shot heard 'round the world! It was like I had the Black Plague," she told Billboard. "I made a joke about how people don't want to sing with me, and I guess I've just been out of the game for a minute, and I didn't think that people were going to take it at face value...My assistant was more mad than anyone about it—she was like, 'I hate how people are spinning this!' I think people around me get more bothered about this stuff than I do."

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