Kelly Clarkson’s Kansas City concert took an unexpected turn when two Kansas Capitol Police officers joined her onstage. LaMont Jackson and Michael Pagel performed Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” turning an unusual guest appearance into a singalong with the singer and the crowd.
The performance took place at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Jackson moved around the stage and encouraged the audience to wave along to the rhythm, while Pagel joined him for the song. Clarkson also sang with the pair, according to the account of the appearance.
The officers’ musical moment was not their first time in front of a camera. Before the concert, Jackson and Pagel had drawn attention with karaoke videos recorded inside their squad car. Their clips reached Clarkson, and she invited them to perform when she came to Kansas City.
Pagel told WIBW-TV that he had been looking for creative ways to build his organization’s social media presence when he came up with the idea of making the videos. He already knew Jackson could sing and saw him as a standout performer for the clips. Their choice to sing in the squad car gave Jackson’s vocals a platform beyond the police department’s usual work.
Footage of the concert appearance was later shared by KCCI NewsChannel 8 on YouTube. The source report said the video had attracted 1.8 million views. Pagel also posted about the experience through the Kansas Capitol Police account, thanking Clarkson for the invitation and describing the night as a lot of fun.
The appearance connected the officers’ online karaoke videos with a live performance in front of Clarkson’s concert audience. Their version of “Stand By Me,” joined by Clarkson, was the centerpiece of the unexpected onstage moment. For Jackson and Pagel, the invitation brought their squad-car singing to a much larger stage—and gave them a chance to perform alongside the artist who had noticed their videos.
