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Kelly Clarkson paid tribute to a late country music icon with a stunning performance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
The chemistry superstar delivered a stunning rendition of “When You Say Nothing at All,” a ballad that Keith Whitley released in the late 1980s on his 12-track album, Don’t Close Your Eyes. The title track of that album — and “When You Say Nothing at All” — was another of Whitley’s biggest hits throughout his career, in addition to “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “Miami, My Amy,” “Somebody’s Doin’ Me Right,” “Brotherly Love” and others. Whitley, a Kentucky-born singer-songwriter, died in May 1989. He was 34. Whitley was married to fellow country singer Lorrie Morgan, who delivered a heartfelt speech when Whitley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022, along with record executive Joe Galante and the legendary Jerry Lee Lewis. Mickey Guyton performed “When You Say Nothing at All,” Hall of Fame member Ricky Skaggs — along with Molly Tuttle and Justin Moses — delivered a performance of “Tennessee Blues,” and Garth Brooks performed “Don’t Close Your Eyes” in Whitley’s honor.
Whitley is one of the latest country artists whose music Clarkson has covered during the Kellyoke segment of her talk show. She’s also covered songs by Bailey Zimmerman, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Kylie Morgan, Trisha Yearwood, Keith Urban and many others. Watch Clarkson deliver her rendition of “When You Say Nothing at All” here: