Kiwi singer Will Swinton talks moment Kelly Clarkson covered his song!

Kiwi singer Will Swinton reacts to Kelly Clarkson covering his song: “She absolutely bodied me”

Rising New Zealand artist Will Swinton is still reeling from the surreal moment global superstar Kelly Clarkson covered his song Flames on her hit segment Kellyoke - and it turns out, he didn’t even see it coming.

In a recent chat with The Hits Drive with Matty & PJ, joined by Matilda Green, the 22-year-old singer opened up about finding out one of the world’s most powerful vocalists had taken on his emotional track.

“She must have just randomly found my song Flames,” Swinton said, still sounding stunned. “I had no idea. I guess my manager knew they might use it, but we thought it’d just be in the background somewhere, like in the credits.”

Instead, Clarkson took centre stage with Flames, backed by her full band, giving the soulful ballad her signature powerhouse treatment.

“She absolutely bodied me on it,” Swinton laughed. “She out-sang me by far.”

It’s a huge moment for the young Aucklander, whose fanbase is growing rapidly both at home and overseas. But as big as the Clarkson cover is, Will says the most surreal moment of his career so far was stepping out onstage for his own U.S. tour.

“I thought I was gonna be playing to six people in Chicago,” he recalled. “Then I walked out and the room was packed - and everyone knew every word.”

Despite the global buzz, Swinton remains as humble and grounded as ever. “I couldn’t even sing properly, I was just grinning the whole time,” he admitted.

With Kelly Clarkson shining a global spotlight on his music and a successful tour under his belt, Will Swinton’s star is definitely on the rise - and he’s doing Aotearoa proud, one soulful note at a time.

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