Holly MatkinKansas City, MO – Singer Kelly Clarkson invited two uniformed Kansas Highway Patrol Capitol police officers onstage during her concert on Thursday night, then sang backup for them as they belted out a tune for her fans.
Clarkson explained to the crowd at the packed Sprint Center that she “fell in love” with Kansas Capitol Police Officers LaMont Jackson and Mike Pagel after she saw their viral #policecarkaraoke video.
“Most of the videos are of cops lip-synching,” she continued. “Not these two. They’re keeping it real and keeping it live.”
Clarkson showed the crowd a clip of the officers’ video, then invited them to come onstage as the crowd welcomed them with a cheers and applause during a standing ovation.
Officer Pagel, who runs the department’s social media pages, said that he and Officer Jackson decided to record their actual voices to put a different twist on the lip-synching videos many agencies had been creating.
“I knew LaMont can sing. I can’t,” he added. “So, I recruited him.”
Before she handed the stage over to the uniformed officers, Clarkson thanked them for their service as the crowd erupted in applause.
“You know what? They’re sacrificing their lives every day for y’all, ok?” she said. “Give it up!”
In turn, the beaming officers thanked the crowd, then serenaded them with a soulful rendition of “Stand By Me.”
Clarkson provided their background vocals, while the crowd sang along, hands waving in the air in unison.
“I don’t know what made me nervous – my first traffic stop, or going out on stage in front of 15,000 plus people,” Officer Pagel told KSNT after their performance. “And that by far was the experience right there that made me super nervous. It was awesome though and Kelly was great to us.”
Clarkson, who is in the midst of her “A Minute and a Glass of Wine” tour, posted a video of the officers’ performance to Facebook.
”It’s not a secret anymore,” the department wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “Words can’t even explain how much fun Officer’s [sic] Jackson and Pagel had last night at the Sprint Center…A big SHOUTOUT & THANK YOU to Kelly Clarkson for inviting them.”
During the show, Clarkson, who has law enforcement officers in her family, said that many people often “don’t appreciate” the work of the police and the sacrifices they make.
“People don’t realize, [but] it’s a scary thing to send your loved ones out there to possibly really horrible situations,” she added.
“I feel like there is such a separation sometimes between the community and the cops, and they’re shouldn’t be. This is a beautiful thing,” she told Officer Jackson and Officer Pagel. “I appreciate you and I respect you.”
You can watch the officers’ performance in the video below: