At a show in Long Island, NY, Kelly Clarkson performed a medley of Cardi B’s “Be Careful,” Post Malone’s “Better Now,” and Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor.” She also took time to praise all three artists before singing.
“This idea came to me the other night because I’m a big, huge fan of all three of the artists that we’re about to cover,” Clarkson said before the song. “And I did this mashup because I always found myself singing along to their songs.”
She praised Cardi’s video for “Money,” and said that she could listen to every song on Malone’s album, likely referring to his second studio LP, beerbongs & bentleys. Clarkson also called Hill one of her favorite artists of all-time.
Clarkson’s tour is in support of her October 2017 album Meaning of Life, and she’s been mixing in covers of well-known songs alongside her originals. She’s previously performed “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn, “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and “The Joke” by Brandi Carlile.
The most notable lyric change in her Cardi, Malone, Hill mashup came when Clarkson was singing the first verse of “Be Careful.” On Cardi’s original, she uses Spanish slang to refer to her partner’s penchant for infidelity. She raps:
You keep in contact with certain exes
Do you, though, trust me, nigga, it’s cool, though
Said that you was workin', but you out here chasin' culo
And putas, chillin' poolside, livin' two lives
I could’ve did what you did to me to you a few times
Clarkson alters the lyrics, removing the Spanish and dialing back the explicit condemnation of cheating. She sings:
Said that you was workin', but you out here chasin' who knows
Who knows, who knows
While “Ex-Factor” is much older than the other two tracks, its popularity has spiked recently after being sampled on Drake’s No. 1 hit “Nice For What.” Hill even performed a remix of Drake’s song at New York’s Apollo Theater in May 2018.
In an interview with Marie Claire, Clarkson said she’d love to work with Cardi B, and explained why she’s performing so many covers on this tour.
“We’re switching it up this year on tour and I’m covering all these artists that inspired me to make music or new songs that came out that really inspired me to keep going,” she said. “It’s really about inspiration this year.”
In the episode of Genius' series For The Record below, host Rob Markman and his guests explored Post Malone’s complex and occasionally controversial relationship to hip-hop.
Read the full lyrics to “Be Careful,” “Better Now,” and “Ex-Factor” as well as Kelly Clarkson’s discography on Genius now.
