"Wow," proclaimed New York Sen. Chuck Schumer after Kelly Clarkson's performance of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at Barack Obama's Inauguration ceremony on Monday.
With her emotional rendition of the patriotic song, Clarkson impressed Schumer, the Obama family, the roughly 800,000 people in attendance and the millions more watching the ceremony remotely on TV or via a live stream online.
Clarkson -- who earned the first American Idol title in 2002 -- belted "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" as the U.S. Marine Band accompanied her. Afterward, she received comments from the president and then seemingly trotted away in awe.
She followed her performance with several tweets about her Inauguration experience:
Wow ....I was incredibly nervous and cold ha! I just wanna officially thank President Obama for opening for me haha! Just kidding :)— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) January 21, 2013
Me and B just hangin' out ....don't worry about it. Seriously, God did good. She is so beautiful! twitter.com/kelly_clarkson…— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) January 21, 2013
Maybe the coolest photo I've ever been in ....ever :) twitter.com/kelly_clarkson…— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) January 21, 2013
Artists Beyonce and James Taylor also performed during the Inauguration ceremony.