Kelly Clarkson took Blake Shelton’s “Honey Bee” and somehow made the familiar love song feel softer, warmer, and a little more heartfelt. Bathed in golden, honey-colored lights, Kelly opened her show with Blake’s 2011 country favorite, letting her voice gently carry every promise woven into the song. After years of friendship, laughter, playful rivalry and countless memories together on The Voice, there was something especially sweet about hearing Kelly sing a song so closely tied to Blake. The original became a No. 1 country hit, but in Kelly’s hands, it felt less like a chart-topper and more like a tender little love letter between two people promising to always balance each other.

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Kelly Clarkson Sounds Sweet as ‘Honey’ on Blake Shelton Cover

WATCH: Kelly Clarkson Puts Her Spin on Blake Shelton 'Honey Bee'

Clarkson injects the “Honey Bee” Kellyoke cover with an appropriate country twang.

Kelly Clarkson wants to spread some sweetness in the new year.

To kick off the Wednesday (Jan. 4) episode of her namesake talk show, the singer serenaded the audience with a soulful rendition of Blake Shelton‘s 2011 hit “Honey Bee.”

Kelly Clarkson Sounds Sweet as a 'Honey Bee' in Blake Shelton Cover

Accompanied by her band Y’all, the “Since U Been Gone” singer was surrounded by honey-colored stage lights and injected the song by her fellow Voice coach with an appropriate country twang. “You’ll be my soft and sweet/ I’ll be your strong and steady/ You’ll be my glass of wine/ I’ll be your shot of whiskey/ You’ll be my sunny day/ I’ll be your shade tree/ You’ll be my honeysuckle/ I’ll be your honey bee,” she passionately sang.

“Honey Bee” was released as the lead single from Shelton’s sixth studio album, Red River Blue. The country track peaked at No. 13 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.

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Later on in the show, Clarkson invited fellow American Idol alum Justin Guarini to share special memories from his time on the show.

“It’s wild because we got shot out of the cannon, but I just loved being around and the fact that we were at the beginning of things, nobody knew what was up,” he reflected. “The stakes weren’t super high for us. We got to hang out so much.”

WATCH: Kelly Clarkson Tributes Blake Shelton With 'Honey Bee' Cover - Country Now

“If you ever have the chance to see Kelly and she says, ‘Hey, do you want to play a card game?’ Don’t,” he later advised actress Alexandra Daddario, also a guest on the show. “We would hang out and we would play speed because there were huge swaths of time, and I think I may have won twice in the hundreds of time that we played together.”

“I feel like I have natural caffeine in me, so it was really my game,” Clarkson added, to which Guarini said, “It was ridiculous! I just kept coming back for more.”

Watch Clarkson’s cover of “Honey Bee” in the video above.