Jewel joins Kelly Clarkson for a duet of her ‘90s ballad ‘Foolish Games’

Jewel shot to fame 25 years ago with her debut album, “Pieces of You,” a recording that went 12-times platinum and packed three of her biggest hits to date — “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “You Were Meant for Me” and “Foolish Games.”

On Monday, Kelly Clarkson decided to honor that major musical anniversary on her daytime talk show by inviting the folk-pop singer to join her for a duet performance of “Foolish Games,” and, frankly, the heartbreaking ballad has never sounded better.

Pandemic protocols on the set of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” meant that Jewel took the stage alongside Clarkson via video, just like the studio audience does these days. Clarkson called it “a very socially distant” arrangement, but that distance did nothing to dull the intimacy of the harmonies the singer-songwriters shared.

Fans who caught a preview of the performance on YouTube before it aired on Monday’s show raved about both women’s efforts in the comments section, calling it “absolutely incredible” and many stating that it brought them to tears.

“Jewel sounds better than ever and well, the queen of harmony herself just makes this song even more heartbreakingly beautiful,” wrote one admirer. “I cannot imagine how this could possibly have been any better,” another remarked. And one added, “They both sang with all they had to give.”

Jewel recently released a 25th anniversary version of “Pieces of You,” and after belting out that ballad with Clarkson, she reminisced about the impact the original recording had.

“This album feels like a magic carpet,” she said. “I don’t know how many words are on it , let’s say 1,000 — 1,000 words changed my life; 1,000 words got me on the cover of Time magazine for representing hope and kind of moving grunge out and into a different era. It was insane what this record did to me, how it changed my life.”

And, as she and Clarkson proved, how well it still holds up.