We're Throwin' It Back — Every Single 1 of Kelly Clarkson's Flawless American Idol Performances

As the voice that started it all, Clarkson nailed Aretha Franklin's hit in her iconic audition, impressing even the curmudgeonly Simon Cowell. It's not all stress for her though, as she even jokingly switched places with Randy Jackson at one point.

Clarkson delivered another soulful classic with the perfect amount of soul, not daunted by Cowell's critiques.

She wowed the crowd here with a tender and powerful rendition of Vanessa Williams's "Save the Best For Last." Cowell pointedly commented that he just didn't like her, but Paula Abdul knew talent when she saw it.

Clarkson reprised her cover of this classic in the semi-final group performance. Cowell still wasn't super impressed, but people were definitely starting to notice her.

Perfect growls and high notes shine in Clarkson's take on this oldie for Motown Week. Abdul pretty much articulated what we love about the vocal queen today, saying, "I just love you, I love your personality, your spirit, and your voice is unbelievable." Also, Cowell does a Texan accent in praising Clarkson, so stick around for that.

We're still recuperating from that whistle note to this very day. Also, can we talk about how iconic her button-down crop top and tie outfit is?

Yup, Clarkson slam dunked ANOTHER Aretha hit flawlessly.

Get your pearls and get ready to swing dance because Clarkson beautifully crooned this song made iconic by Betty Hutton in 1945.

Here, Cowell told Clarkson that he truly believed that she was going to be a big star after the show. While reality competition judges might throw this compliment around rather often, it looks like his prediction came true.

As Jackson said, Clarkson can really sing anything, even one of the biggest songs of the '80s.

By this point, hitting the right notes effortlessly was a given for Clarkson. This was the first time Clarkson gave a superemotional performance, which is kind of her thing now. Cowell compared her to Céline and Mariah, and well, he's not wrong!

Clarkson belted her heart out with another Céline Dion ballad for Judge's Week, impressing us with both seamlessly smooth and gravelly notes. The judges weren't into the song choice itself, but they loved her voice on it.

"Without You" is an absolute showstopper on Judge's Week.

Listen, she did it again, and we're honestly not even mad.

This song was written for the winner of American Idol, and both Clarkson and Justin Guarini sang it live during the final showdown.

Like "Before Your Love," this song was also written as a single for the winner. It's pretty much Clarkson's coronation song before the finale itself.

It's the perfect song for the moment, even though we totally saw it coming.