Posted: Oct. 24, 2009 9:56 a.m.

Kelly Clarkson's show Friday night at the Milwaukee Theatre lacked the trappings one would expect from a modern, female pop singer.

No dancers. No diva-favoring lights. No costume changes.

(Indeed, no costumes, unless an old David Bowie shirt counts.)

Clarkson's show instead featured music - lots and lots of music.

That, in itself, wasn't a big surprise. Since Clarkson won the first "American Idol" competition in 2002, she has released four albums, all of which have sold well.

Nor was her voice a revelation: As noted, she won on "American Idol," and although she was slightly hoarse on Friday, she could open her throat and lungs as if she were Mariah Carey or Celine Dion (without the look-at-me! theatrics).

Clarkson did have an 11-piece band, including a DJ, two backup singers and three horn players.

But all those musicians weren't covering any particular flaws. In some moments, they even created flaws of their own with too much treble and hiss.

Clarkson's radio staples weren't particularly affected by the odd mix, however.

"My Life Would Suck Without You" remained a sugar rush from its title on down.

"I Do Not Hook Up" still pounded like a state-of-the-art update of old-fashioned romance, and Clarkson certainly did it more justice to it than the song's co-writer, Katy Perry, would have.

And "Since U Been Gone" didn't lose any of its shiny, kiss-off energy, even if Clarkson did not mention that its overdriven bridge was basically ripped off, whole cloth, from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' gorgeous "Maps."

She mentioned other artists she loved, though, in the process of covering them.

Her mash-up of Alanis Morissette's "That I Would Be Good" and Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" was more intriguing than truly listenable.

But her take on Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" (smooth like West Coast jazz, complete with cool trumpet solo), her version of the Black Keys' "Lies" (Ritz-cracker blues - not too nourishing, yet tasty) and her run at the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" (blistering) demonstrated a musical range even broader than her vocal one.

Fortunately, neither her taste nor her talent tipped her demeanor toward pretentiousness - as her fans recognized.

Other modern, female pop singers might consider following her example.

Review: Kelly Clarkson at the Fox Theatre

Without Kelly Clarkson, where would "American Idol" be?

Sure, it would probably be fine. "The Bachelor" franchise is still humming along, and its success rate is abysmal. But Clarkson -- the original, and still the best, "American Idol" -- gave the show a shot of legitimacy right from the get-go that has proven invaluable. Just think if Justin Guarini would have won that first year.

Six years and four albums into her career, Clarkson has reached a cool kind of serenity, which she displayed at the Fox Theatre Sunday. She no longer has to prove she's a star -- massive hits such as "Since U Been Gone" and "My Life Would Suck Without You" have done that for her -- nor is she stuck playing anyone else's game or being what anyone else wants her to be. On Sunday she was just Kelly -- perky, funny, and a whirlwind singer -- and that was plenty good enough.

Clarkson's 20-song, 90-minute set included a handful of covers which, frankly, would have burned up the "Idol" stage (she should come back to the show as a guest mentor. Seriously). During previous tours she may have had to round out her performance with covers to fill a full set, but now she's doing covers because she can, and she's earned the right to. She filled her set Sunday with a cool array of cover songs, including a smoky, bluesy take on the Black Keys' "Lies," a gale force cover of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," a sassy rendition of Patsy Cline's "Walkin' After Midnight" and an inventive hybrid of Alanis Morrissette's "That I Would Be Good" and Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody" that peaked with the roundhouse chorus of the latter. In each, Clarkson put her own stamp and spin on them, going back to her old judges' advice to make every song her own.

She also put new spins on her own material, stripping down "Behind These Hazel Eyes" to its bare essentials and rearranging "Already Gone" into a far more effective ballad. She also gave "My December's" solemn first single "Never Again" a disco-funk makeover that made it much less of a drag than it was in its original form.

Most of all, Clarkson was chatty and free-spirited during the show, even joking about the wind machine she spent most of the show propped in front of (she claimed it was because it was hot on stage, but more likely she enjoyed the Beyonce-like effect it gave her hair). She even swigged freely from a bottle of booze during "Chivas" and cracked about how long it had been since she'd been kissed ("any takers? Just kidding!" she laughed), endearing herself to the audience along the way.

Whether or not "American Idol" is searching for true artists is debatable. But it found one in Kelly Clarkson, which she continues to hammer home time and again. Good for them, better for us.