Kelly Clarkson duets with Jimmy Fallon, reveals 2015 tour dates

Kelly Clarkson kicked off release week for her new “Piece by Piece” album with an appearance Monday on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where she and the show’s host dived into a medley of hit pop duets spanning the last half century.

From Sonny & Cher’s 1965 breakthrough “I Got You Babe” on up through Pink and Nate Ruess’ 2013 smash “Just Give Me a Reason,” Clarkson and Fallon touched romantic pairings through the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s.

Those included James Taylor and Carly Simon’s version of “Mockingbird,” Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream,” Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks’ “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville’s “Don’t Know Much,” Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat’s “Opposites Attract” and Diana Ross and Lionel Riche’s “Just Give Me a Reason.”

Pop & Hiss’ favorite moment: Fallon donning Neville’s signature leather cap, gold earring and large birthmark and uttering a nearly intelligible string of syllabic nonsense against Clarkson’s handling of Ronstadt’s part in the song.

Clarkson’s new album “Piece by Piece” hit the streets today, March 3, and the original “American Idol” has also revealed details of the companion concert tour, which kicks off July 11 in Hershey, Pa., and reaches Southern California for stops Aug. 16 in San Diego and Aug. 19 in Los Angeles.

She’ll be joined on the 36-date North American tour by two opening acts, vocal group Pentatonix and singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson. The tour is slated to run through Sept. 20 in Camden, N.J.

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