It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood—whatever neighborhood you’re in—and that is a good enough reason to listen to Kelly Clarkson evocatively cover this classic Mister Rogers tune.
On The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer has a regular segment called “Kellyoke,” in which she performs a cover of a song she particularly loves or which is relevant to a guest who is scheduled to appear. Since Tom Hanks, who plays Fred Rogers in the film A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, was the guest on Tuesday’s episode of the show, it was the perfect opportunity for her to cover “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
The tune is best known to generations of children as the song Mister Rogers sang on each episode of his long-running public television show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In the film, which is based on a true story, Hanks stars as Mister Rogers as he is followed by a prickly journalist assigned to profile him for a story, and the unlikely friendship that follows.
It’s a heartwarming story about one of the kindest men to ever grace the American air waves and, appropriately enough, Clarkson’s version tugs at the heart strings. She transforms the song from a simple ditty designed to entertain kids to a soulful torch song. It will soothe your spirit, while making you reach for the tissue box. And it will likely have you agreeing to be her neighbor or anyone’s neighbor, really.
In short, it’s just like Mr. Rogers probably would have wanted. Listen here:
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