TORONTO - Miss Independent -- that would be 25-year-old Texas pop-rock-gospel belter Kelly Clarkson -- came to Toronto's Massey Hall last night and blew the roof off the joint.

In other words, the first-season winner of American Idol showed no signs of suffering from what clearly has been a stressful year.

In case you hadn't heard, Clarkson was supposed to stage an arena tour this summer to coincide with the release of her third album, My December, but the road trip was scaled down to theatres in the fall due to poor ticket sales.

She also fired her management company and had a very public feud with label boss Clive Davis over the musical direction of My December, for which she later apologized.

But last night was about the music, mostly.

Clarkson herself mentioned another controversy, when she was filmed drinking Chivas Regal scotch and singing karaoke -- Guns N' Roses Sweet Child O' Mine no less, after she ran into someone she didn't want to see -- and the clip ended up on YouTube.

Still, Clarkson clearly knows how to make lemonade out of lemons and wrote a catchy song about the experience, Chivas, which ended up as a hidden track on My December.

Frankly, her attitude and style are a breath of fresh air in a music industry that's too often dominated by prefab pop stars (see American Idol).

Clarkson later had the audience judge a band pumpkin-carving contest in honour of Halloween that included one she co-designed that was inspired by Steve Carell's chest-waxing scene in The 40-Year-Old Virgin and his now famous utterance "Kelly Clarkson!"

Naturally, her pumpkin won.

And can the girl ever sing, as she demonstrated on such pulse-pounding standouts as Behind These Hazel Eyes, Because of You, a gospel treatment of Patty Griffin's Up to the Mountain, Miss Independent -- with snippets of AC/DC's Highway to Hell and Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love thrown into the mix -- Breakaway, Walk Away, Sober, Chivas, and Since U Been Gone.

The barefoot Clarkson dramatically opened the hour-and-20-minute show by recreating the album cover of My December, right down to wearing the same burgundy ball gown, which was quickly torn away to reveal a purple and black camisole and wide-legged black pants, while her seven-piece band maintained frozen poses.

Smoke machines and strobe lights helped preserve the theatrical atmosphere during the set opener and My December tune, One Minute, but the crowd didn't really come alive until the second song, Behind These Hazel Eyes.

There is a slightly dumb-struck quality to Clarkson's besotted fans, who have seen her so often on television but rarely been able to see her so up-close-and-personal.

Not that she didn't encourage audience participation.

"The last time I was in Toronto I loved it, so I was looking forward to tonight!" she said early in the show to huge cheers.

A white ruffled curtain sometimes acted as a barrier between Clarkson and her band and backdrop, which included a small staircase and a video screen, but it was really her connection to the audience and that powerhouse voice that was most impressive.

Even if demanding everyone "Jump!" as she did during Gone and Since U Been Gone didn't always work.