“American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson brought her signature powerhouse vocals to the world of K-Pop with a fresh take on a song from the film, “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” during her latest Kellyoke performance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
In the cover posted Tuesday, January 13, the talk-show host put her own spin on one of HUNTR/X‘s fan-favorite songs, “What It Sounds Like,” from the Netflix animated film’s soundtrack. Fans, who were expecting a cover of the hit song “Golden,” were pleasantly surprised by Clarkson’s choice and thrilled to see the way she captured the intensity and excitement of the original while still making it her own.
Clarkson’s Cover of ‘What It Sounds Like’ & Fan Reactions
“What It Sounds Like” is one of several songs on the beloved “K-Pop Demon Hunters” soundtrack, reaching No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September while the full album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It’s biggest hit, “Golden,” spent eight weeks atop the Hot 100 in 2025 and won best original song at the Golden Globes two days prior to Clarkson’s cover, according to Billboard.
Fans were absolutely buzzing in the comment section after the cover was posted to YouTube:
“I personally like that she didn’t sing Golden. Golden is such an intimate confession from EJAE that I feel like she, Audry and Rei should hold on to it for a bit longer. Kelly would kill it! We all know she will, however, I’m glad she decided to go with a different song.”
“Finally, a WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE PERFORMANCE, AND COVERED BY THE KELLY CLARKSON.”
“This song needs more love I’m so glad Kelly covered this. It was fantastic.”
“Finally WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE appreciation…Kelly Clarkson didn’t disappoint…She made her own again….”
“I figured if Kelly was gonna cover any of the KPDH songs it would be Golden, but I am SOOO glad she went with this one. It’s my favorite from the soundtrack and it doesn’t get enough attention. Also it just fits Kelly so perfectly.”
“I am crying!!! This song has become my mantra for life!!! Kelly did it so much justice! It took the song to a total new level!!!!!”
“From American Idol until now I’ve loved to hear Kelly sing because she’s so incredible and yet so humble. What a great cover, much love Kelly!”
Clarkson recently welcomed Arden Cho, who voiced Rumi in “Demon Hunters” as a guest on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”
Arden Cho Reflects on Finding Strength in K-Pop on Clarkson’s Show
On Tuesday, January 13, Cho joined Clarkson on her talk show, where she reflected on growing up in Texas as a Korean-American.
“I think growing up, especially in our neighborhood in the 90s, we were pretty much the only Asian family,” Cho admits. “I think I was maybe the only Asian kid at my school. And at that time, like, we just didn’t know what that, I didn’t really know what that meant, right?”
“You said that becoming Rumi helped you heal. How so?” asks Clarkson.
Cho answers, “growing up with this confusion of identity, feeling like there’s not a place for me, you know, I’m Korean, Korean-American, I’m Asian, I think I’m American, I’m born in Texas, I thought I was Texan…In my 30’s, I really just embraced my Korean culture…I am Korean, and I love K-Pop…that has helped me figure out who I am and become the woman I’m supposed to be, and I feel like Rumi goes through that as she sort of battles hiding who she is…”
Watch the rest of Cho’s appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” above!
