Toadies Cover Kelly Clarkson Hit To Aid Texas Parks and Wildlife

The pop hit “Since U Been Gone” is making a comeback, post-grunge style.

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When the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation set out to create and album commemorating 100 years of Texas state parks, no one knew who or what songs might come out of the woodwork. Especially the very tongue and cheek pairing of two North Texas icons, the Toadies and Kelly Clarkson. No, the two aren’t featured on a single track together, however, the post-grunge Fort Worth-based band known for asking “Do you wanna die?” channeled their pop prowess on the 2004 Clarkson hit “Since U Been Gone.”

This is the latest single to be released from the “Texas Wild” album, which exclusively features Texas musicians, both well-known and rising stars, as they pay tribute to classic Texas tunes. And apparently “Since U Been Gone” has made it to this iconic status. This comp, which features nearly a dozen Texas-based artists is set to be released on December 1st. This album blends traditional Texas genres like blues, cumbia and country with modern sounds like hip-hop, R&B, and electronica. Ironically, the Toadies appear on this 11-track comp twice, once as the band covering one of Clarkson’s biggest hits and second as a band being covered. That’s right, “Yellowstone” actor and Grammy-Award winning artist Ryan Bingham covers the Toadies biggest hit “Possum Kingdom” on the album.

“When the discussion started about covering a fellow Texas artist for this compilation, I was a bit overwhelmed,” Toadies frontman Vaden Todd Lewis says. “There are just so many great ones to choose from. In my frustration, I mentioned it to my wife, who yelled ‘KELLY CLARKSON’S SINCE U BEEN GONE!’ It seemed like the perfect fit, in that it’s very out of character for The Toadies. We’re always looking to push our limits. This song particularly pushed my personal limits as a vocalist. Plus it’s hella fun to play!”

Toadies’ bassist Doni Blair adds “We chose it because it’s a great song, AND our singer can do it. Not everyone has the Texas Bon Scott.”

But this is anything but a one-sided love fest. Clarkson herself proclaimed the Toadies her favorite band in her 2023 release “did you know” along with name dropping Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” and the 80s classic movie “The Goonies.”

The “Texas Wild” album was made possible by notable Texas brands Rambler Sparkling Water and Tecovas. The album also features unique, block-print-style artwork by Texas illustrator Mishka Westell. Butler, a branding studio in Austin, also collaborated on the project’s concept and design.

“The talented lineup of artists and tracks featured on Texas Wild are as diverse as the incredible natural wonders of our state,” TPWF Executive Director Anne Brown said in a release. “With 11 unique ecoregions covering 268,500 square miles, Texas’ amazing biodiversity includes 800 species of fish, 634 species of birds, and over 4,600 species of native plants, and ‘Texas Wild’ supports our efforts to conserve them.”