I Met The Twee Bird That Ruffled Kelly Clarkson’s Feathers

Before we get to the feud, let’s start with the facts. Molly, the wooden crank-operated automaton made by the artist Bliss Kolb, is a beauty. Although Molly is made of basswood, cherry, and teak, with glass eyes and steel screws, its buttery yellow body and dusky brown wings recall the northern yellow warbler, a melodic whistling songbird found across the U.S. and Canada. Molly is a beautiful singer.

It is also true that Kelly Clarkson is a beautiful singer. Or maybe beautiful is understating it. Clarkson is considered one of the great vocalists of her generation and one of the greatest singers of all time. She instantly proved the premise of American Idol, that a reality show could, in fact, find the best singer in the nation (and arguably could have ended once they found her). For seven seasons, Clarkson belted out unbelievable covers during the “Kellyoke” segment of The Kelly Clarkson Show. Her performance of her most-requested song ever—”Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters, in the original, staggering key—features YouTube comments that are the dictionary definition of diva worship, for good reason.