The original remains the best, people.
Even after all these years, even after all these champions and memorable contestants on American Idol, Kelly Clarkson returned to the show on Thursday night and reminded everyone that the bar was set impossibly high on the very first season.
For pure emotion… for raw talent… for everything awesome about celebrity, you simply cannot top Kelly Clarkson.
The beloved artist took to the Idol stage just a few weeks before the show says goodbye forever and choked up while singing "Piece by Piece."
"I"m pregnant and it"s nostalgic and I can"t believe it"s the last season," the expectant mother said in reaction to her reaction when speaking to Ryan Seacrest afterward. "Yeah, really sorry I just bawled."
No reason to apologize, Kelly.
This is why we love you.
Keith Urban and Jennifer Lopez were also brought to tears by Clarkson’s performance, as was pretty much anyone with a pulse.
Clarkson, who is seven weeks away from giving birth to a sibling for daughter River Rose, also cried back in August when singing this same song, announcing to the crowd at the time that she was pregnant as an explanation for her emotional state.
Watch Kelly make her final American Idol appearance below, but be warned:
You"re going to want to do so with a box of tissues by your side.
