Watch Kelly Clarkson Cover Eric Hutchinson’s “Why Don’t You Try”

Robbie Daw | March 21, 2011 9:12 am

First Lady Of American Idol Kelly Clarkson was just one of the big names to attend Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Phoenix over the weekend. And while there, Clarkson, who says her new album is due out in September, sang a rousing, bluesy cover of Eric Hutchinson’s “Why Don’t You Try.” Watch below. Last month Kelly announced on Facebook that “one of my favorites on the new album is highly influenced by Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. Eric Hutchinson wrote it ….the album is gonna be a great pop record! I can’t wait for y’all to hear it!”

So far there’s no confirmation that “Why Don’t You Try” is actually the Eric Hutchinson song on Clarkson’s new LP. But here she is performing it in Arizona last night:

And here’s the song’s writer, Eric Hutchinson, performing “Why Don’t You Try” live in 2009:

Yeah, yeah—call us biased, but we’re leaning toward Kelly’s version! After Celebrity Fight Night, Kelly posted the following message on Facebook:

“I had such an amazing weekend! I got the chance to be a part of Fight Night in Arizona and I had such a great time! I can’t wait to come back next year! I made some new friends with some big hearts and it was just a very inspiring weekend. Please find a few charities and/or causes and give your time, heart and/or money because we are all so blessed even when we think we’re not :)”

At any rate, lest anyone think Clarkson’s next album is going to be all blues, she also mentioned last month that other inspiration for her new tracks came from Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, Radiohead “and there’s a little bit of a Country vibe/influence on a couple of songs.”