Yes, Kelly Clarkson Actually Sang Live During the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

There was no lip synching for this American Idol winner

By Elyse Dupre Nov 23, 2018 12:25 AMTags
Kelly Clarkson, 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day ParadeEric Liebowitz/NBC

Kelly Clarkson isn't afraid to tell it like it is.

After performing at the 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on Thursday, Clarkson took to Instagram to reassure her followers that her singing was live.

"Umm, I don't know if y'all know this, but that was live! Brynn Cartelli, thank you—singing in this cold weather with me. It's so cold in New York," she said, giving her former Voice mentee a shout-out. "I just wanted y'all to know, you probably all thought that sounded so good from Brynn Cartelli, but that was live, as well. So Brynn Cartelli's just rocking those runs this morning. I didn't even give those runs this morning. I was like, nope! Anyway, happy Thanksgiving, y'all! I'm so excited to be here with Brynn!"

Clarkson didn't let the cold temperature bring her down. Even though it was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the Big Apple, Clarkson gave a hot performance of her hit "Heat." Several social media users applauded her for her performance and commended her for not lip synching.

"No one else is singing live for the Macy's parade except Kelly Clarkson, actual queen," wrote one Twitter user

"Good for Kelly!" wrote another. "Sounds like she insisted to sing live instead of usual lip syncing at #MacysDayParade. Sounds awesome of course @kellyclarkson."

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Stars Celebrate Thanksgiving 2018

However, Twitter was also quick to call out when a performer didn't sing live. For instance, John Legend took to Twitter earlier in the day to defend Rita Ora after she was singled out for lip synching.

"Fun fact. We all have to lip sync on this parade because the floats don't have the capacity to handle the sound requirements for a live performance," he wrote in response to a social media user who had criticized Ora. "Hope y'all enjoyed it anyway. Know that if you come to my shows, the vocals are 100% live!" 

Ora clearly appreciated Legend's support.

"Fun fact @johnlegend thank you for clarifying what I was about to also tweet," she wrote. "It's annoying for us but anyway! All my shows are 100 percent live always have been! When you come to a ORA show get ready! Back to holidays! Have a good one guys! :) X." 

Even Macy's admitted there had been a few technical difficulties.

"During today's NBC broadcast of the #MacysParade several recording artists experienced technical difficulties that negatively impacted their performance," the brand's official Twitter account wrote. "We apologize and want fans to know these issues were out of the artist's control." 

"Thank you and I appreciate the honesty," Ora responded, "and I hope everyone still had a great time!"

Watch the video to see Clarkson's performance.

(E! and NBC are both members of the NBCUniversal family).