Meaning of Life Tour

The Meaning of Life Tour was the eighth headlining concert tour from American pop singer Kelly Clarkson. Her first tour in three and a half years, it supported her eighth studio album Meaning of Life (2017). The tour began in Oakland, California on January 24, 2019, and concluded on March 30, 2019, in Greenville, South Carolina, visiting arenas in various cities across the United States. This was Clarkson's highest grossing tour to date.

Background
Clarkson had previously declared her intention for a concert tour to support her eighth studio album Meaning of Life, which was her first album release with Atlantic Records. Before the conclusion of the fourteenth season of The Voice and hosting the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, Clarkson revealed the tour was being "routed". On September 14, 2018, she announced tour dates with her supporting acts Kelsea Ballerini and Brynn Cartelli (winner of The Voice's fourteen season from Clarkson's team), who joined her in a rendition of the album's titular track. Clarkson remarked in a statement, "Even while recording it, I couldn't wait for people to experience the music live, to not only hear it, but feel it. It has taken almost a year of planning, and I can't wait to see y'all on the road!".

Clarkson had four to five wardrobe changes, two of them being major, and each night a portion of each show was live streamed. As well as bringing Byrnn Cartelli on tour, Clarkson also brought one of her other The Voice season fourteen contestants, D.R. King. He was singing background vocals for her.

Show
The show began with the venue becoming dark and clips of Clarkson's past hits playing. Clarkson then rose up to the stage wearing a black and red ballgown, and with a spotlight on her, she sang her first single "A Moment Like This" a cappella. The show closed with her well-known hit "Since U Been Gone". In between she performed tracks off her latest album Meaning of Life, past singles, past album tracks, and covers. A portion of each show was live streamed on her Facebook page. The segment is named after her Facebook live webisodes and song: "A Minute and a Glass of Wine". Clarkson’s backup singers started off singing the song "A Minute and a Glass of Wine", with Clarkson coming out shortly after and finishing it. She then covered a song that she picked (replacing "Fan Requests" from her past two tours). Some nights, she brought out a special guest (either a musical artist or someone who has done good) to give a sneak peek of what her upcoming talk show The Kelly Clarkson Show will be like (I.E. During opening night in Oakland, she brought out Allyn Pierce a nurse who during the Camp Fire (2018) made a heroic effort by driving in the fire to rescue people and at the Nashville show Clarkson's good friend Reba McEntire was her guest, and the two performed a medley of songs). For "Miss Independent", she brought Kelsea Ballerini and Brynn Cartelli out on stage to sing the song with her.

VIP section
For this tour Clarkson had a VIP/bar stage, "A Minute + A Glass of Wine...Bar Experience" where the bar surrounded the b-stage. VIP ticket holders received things like a drink ticket, one merchandise gift signed by Clarkson, custom signed wine glasses, an invitation to the 'Meaning of Life' Lounge, and more.

Critical reception
Jim Harrington of The Mercury News says, "The concert reached the next level with the fourth selection, "Love So Soft," a standout rocker from "Meaning of Life" that shows just how much soul Clarkson can bring to the party when she has the right material to work with." And "Part of what makes Clarkson so impactful on stage is her sincerity. She comes across as someone you can trust, and even more so, someone who you'd want to hang out with." Daily Herald journalist Sarah Harris, who attended the Salt Lake City show said that Clarkson brought down the house. Emily Gardiner of the Deseret News said, "Clarkson hasn't missed a step during her three-year hiatus from touring.", and that her "voice carried the same power and soul that fans have loved since her "American Idol" win back in 2002, reminding the audience just how incredible her voice sounds live." Tulsa World's Jimmie Tramel said, "She didn't just sing to the audience. She connected. You've probably been to a concert where unnamed superstar artist came off as trying to be some sort of higher species. Clarkson, born and raised in Texas, was engaging in a manner that made you feel like she was just glad to be barefoot and hanging out with her Oklahoma peeps."

Kendra Meinert of the Green Bay Press-Gazette said, "There was never a moment during her hour-and-45-minute show that the crowd of about 7,000 wasn't with her every step of the way, from the synchronized jumping up and down during "Stronger" to the heartbreak of "a Piece by Piece" with a lone acoustic guitar to a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for a 14-year-old fan in the crowd." Althea Legaspi of the Chicago Tribune said, "Clarskon was savvy in mostly culling crowd pleasers delivered with a down home approach driven home with her easy banter." and "her beguiling voice and personality were more than enough to fill the arena.". Thor Christensen of Guide Live who attended the Dallas show said, "Clarkson proved just how much grit she has in her gymnastic soprano. Her voice was in brilliant form all night."

Commercial performance
This was Clarkson's highest grossing tour to date, grossing $17,490,910, and selling over 275,000 tickets. All twenty-eight shows were sold out. This tour surpassed her previous highest grossing tours; The Breakaway Tour and Addicted Tour.

Set list
This set list is from the January 24, 2019, show in Oakland, California. It does not represent every show.


 * 1) "A Moment Like This"
 * 2) "Meaning of Life"
 * 3) "Walk Away"
 * 4) "Love So Soft"
 * 5) "Whole Lotta Woman"
 * 6) "Behind These Hazel Eyes"
 * 7) "Piece by Piece"
 * 8) "Breakaway"
 * 9) Medley: "Because of You" / "Just Missed The Train" / "Beautiful Disaster" / "Sober" / "Good Goes the Bye" / "Would You Call That Love"
 * 10) A Minute" (interlude)
 * 11) "Tin Man"
 * 12) "Run Run Run" (with D.R. King)
 * 13) "Move You"
 * 14) "My Life Would Suck Without You"
 * 15) "Heat"
 * 16) "Heartbeat Song"
 * 17) "Miss Independent"
 * Encore
 * 1) "It's Quiet Uptown"
 * 2) "Never Enough"
 * 3) "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"
 * 4) "Since U Been Gone"

Additional notes

 * "Miss Independent" was performed with Kelsea Ballerini and Brynn Cartelli. However, during the March 9, 14, and 15 concerts in Allentown, and Uncasville, Clarkson and Cartelli performed the song with Maggie Rose in replacement of Ballerini.
 * During the January 26, 2019, concert in Los Angeles, "Run Run Run" was performed with John Legend in replacement of King.
 * "Move You" was not performed during any of the March concerts. In addition, the medley was not performed after the March 21, 2019 concert in Cleveland.
 * During the March 28-30, 2019, concerts in Duluth, Nashville, and Greenville, "Broken & Beautiful" was performed.

A Minute + A Glass of Wine songs
Clarkson performed one cover song as part of a segment referred to as "A Minute + A Glass of Wine" in a more intimate fashion.


 * January 24: Oakland – "Tin Man" (Miranda Lambert cover)
 * January 25: Fresno – "Idontwanttobeyouanymore" (Billie Eilish cover; performed with Lynnea Moorer).
 * January 30: Salt Lake City – "Love Lies" (Khalid & Normani cover)
 * February 1: Glendale – "The Weight" (The Band cover)
 * February 7: Kansas City – "God is a Woman" (Ariana Grande cover)
 * February 8: Tulsa – "Boys 'Round Here" (Blake Shelton cover; changed to "Girls 'Round Here")
 * February 9: Southaven – "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (Frankie Valli cover; Lauryn Hill version)
 * February 14: Grand Rapids – "Jealous" (Labrinth cover)
 * February 15: Green Bay – "Shallow" (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper cover)"
 * February 16: St. Paul – "Crazy" (Willie Nelson cover; Patsy Cline version)
 * February 21: Detroit – "The Joke" (Brandi Carlile cover)
 * February 22: Rosemont – "In My Blood" (Shawn Mendes cover)
 * February 23: St. Louis — "Valerie" (The Zutons cover; Mark Ronson & Amy Winehouse version)
 * February 28: Dallas – "Dancing On My Own" (Robyn cover)
 * March 2: Wichita – "Something Just Like This" (The Chainsmokers & Coldplay cover)
 * March 7: Uniondale – Mashup of "Be Careful"/"Better Now"/"Ex-Factor" (Cardi B, Post Malone and Lauryn Hill covers)
 * March 8: Boston – "Nobody's Cryin'" (Patty Griffin cover)
 * March 9: Allentown – "Dancing with a Stranger" (Sam Smith and Normani cover)
 * March 15: Uncasville – "Make It Rain" (Foy Vance cover, performed with Cartelli)
 * March 16: Baltimore – "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Aerosmith cover)
 * March 21: Cleveland – "One" (U2 song)
 * March 22: Indianapolis – "Rise Up" (Andra Day song)
 * March 30: Greenville – "Time After Time" (Cyndi Lauper cover, performed with Ballerini)

Special guests

 * January 24: Oakland — Allyn Pierce, a nurse who during the 2018 Camp Fire drove through the fire to rescue people.
 * January 25: Fresno – Lynnea Moorer, one Clarkson's The Voice season 15 contestants.
 * January 26: Los Angeles – John Legend
 * January 30: Salt Lake City – The LeBaron Singers, a family music group from Utah. They performed "One Day More" from Les Misérables with her.
 * February 1: Glendale – Chevel Shepherd, winner of the fifteenth season The Voice who was on Kelly's team. She performed her victory single "Broken Hearts" with Kelly.
 * February 7: Kansas City – Capitol Police Officers, LaMont Jackson and Michael Pagel. Jackson and Clarkson performed "Stand by Me".
 * February 14: Grand Rapids – Clarkson brought out a fan from the audience and the two sang "My Girl"
 * February 15: Green Bay – Natalie Burns, a Milwaukee County Transit System bus driver. Recently, Burns allowed a homeless man to ride her route to keep him safe from the cold. After her shift she bought him food and found him shelter. Clarkson gave Burns $1,000 for her good deed.
 * February 28: Dallas – Sarah Grace, who was on Kelly's team during season 15 of The Voice. She performed a mashup of "Amazing Grace" and "The House of the Rising Sun".
 * March 7: Uniondale – A local choreographer who taught Kelly a dance to "Love So Soft".
 * March 9: Allentown – Dylan Hartigan, who was on Kelly's team during season 14 of The Voice. He performed his song "Stop Look and Listen"
 * March 14: Uncasville – Kymberli Joye, who was on Kelly's team during season 15 of The Voice . Her and Kelly sang Lauren Daigle's "You Say".
 * March 16: Baltimore – Mandy Remmell and her son Blake. In December 2018, video of Mandy singing "Since U Been Gone" to her son during a Maryland Terrapins basketball game went viral. Kelly gave Blake a signed LeBron James basketball, and Mandy a $1000 gift certificate to buy a guitar.
 * March 23: Cincinnati – Abby Cates who was on Kelly's team during season 15 of The Voice. She sang "Always Remember Us This Way" from A Star Is Born.
 * March 28: Duluth – Kaleb Lee, who was on Kelly's team during season 14 of The Voice. He performed his songs "I Dream in Southern" and "Cooler Weather".
 * March 29: Nashville – Reba McEntire. Clarkson and McEntire sang "Because of You", "Can't Even Get the Blues", "Fancy", "Is There Life Out There", and "Freedom".

Personnel
Source:

Band

 * Kelly Clarkson – Lead vocals
 * Jake Botts – Saxophone
 * Jaco Caraco – Guitar
 * Jessi Collins – Backup vocalist
 * Lester Estelle – Drums
 * Aben Eubanks – Guitar
 * Jason Halbert – Keyboards, piano, & musical director
 * Glenn Hill – Trombone
 * Allison Iraheta – Backup vocalist
 * D.R. King – Backup vocalist
 * Charles Ray – Trumpet
 * Bridget Sarai – Backup vocalist
 * Kyle Whalum – Bass

Miscellaneous

 * AEG – promoter
 * Leroy Bennett – production designer
 * Brandon Blackstock & Starstruck Management – management
 * Chris Dye – artist production manager
 * Gloria Elias-Foeillet – makeup
 * Clair Global – audio provider
 * Candace Lambert McAndrews – costumes, styling
 * Bob Lewis – monitor engineer
 * Fraser McKeen – lighting director
 * Chris Michaelessi – FOH engineer
 * Messina Touring Group – promoter
 * Robert Ramos – Hair
 * Dennis Sharp – tour manager
 * Jay Schmitt – production manager
 * Tait Towers – Staging & Props
 * Upstaging – Lighting & trucking
 * Vision Visual Inc. – video