--- description: Kelly Clarkson covered everyone from Taylor Swift to Kendrick Lamar in an opening performance medley for the Billboard Music Awards. title: Kelly Clarkson Brings the House Down at the Billboard Music Awards image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1299db549b191d37/698930f98fd2ee6fd335bac2/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018-medley.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Kelly Clarkson Brought the House Down With This Billboard Music Awards Medley  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 21, 2018 3:28 PM CUT  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 21, 2018 3:28 PM CUT [Kelly Clarkson](http://time.com/5285405/taylor-swifts-reaction-to-kelly-clarkson-billboard/ "undefined") covered everyone from Kendrick Lamar to Taylor Swift in a show-stopping medley of hits for her opening performance as the host of the [2018 Billboard Music Awards.](http://time.com/5285049/billboard-music-awards-2018-best-worst-moments/ "undefined") The singer flexed her powerhouse vocals in a versatile performance that spanned genres and styles while paying tribute to the night’s honored artists and their work: Maren Morris’ “My Church,” Sam Smith’s “Too Good at Goodbyes,” Kendrick Lamar’s “HUMBLE.”, Imagine Dragon’s “Thunder,” Khalid’s “Young, Dumb and Broke,” Bruno Mars and Cardi B’s “Finesse (Remix),” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” Shawn Mendes’ “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back,” and Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do.” Clarkson, who expressed that she was a “big fan” of all the artists before launching into her medley, also used her platform as the event’s host to [honor the victims of the tragic Santa Fe school shooting](http://time.com/5285059/kelly-clarkson-santa-fe-shooting-billboard-music-awards/ "undefined") and to call for a “moment of action” when it comes to gun violence. See Clarkson’s full performance below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5285403/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5285403/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018/"},"headline":"Kelly Clarkson Brought the House Down With This Billboard Music Awards Medley","datePublished":"2018-05-21T15:28:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:38.219Z","description":"A medley to remember","url":"https://time.com/5285403/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Music"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1299db549b191d37/698930f98fd2ee6fd335bac2/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018-medley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1299db549b191d37/698930f98fd2ee6fd335bac2/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018-medley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2018 Billboard Music Awards - Show","caption":"2018 Billboard Music Awards - Show","creditText":"Kevin Winter—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5285403/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018/","name":"Kelly Clarkson Brought the House Down With This Billboard Music Awards Medley"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"A medley to remember","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5285403/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5285403/kelly-clarkson-billboard-music-awards-2018/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```