Popular talk show host, singer and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson went through a divorce with Brandon Blackstock that later got contentious over money and property, and despite much of it playing out in the public eye, she, more often than not, kept her feelings to herself. Instead, she privately channeled those emotions into her music. It was a healthy coping strategy at the time, but once there were enough songs for an album, it forced her to confront an uncomfortable question: which ones were appropriate to release publicly?
Clarkson recently sat with Nancy O’Dell to do an interview for Talk Shop Live, and much of the conversation was, of course, about her new album Chemistry, which is set to be released on June 23rd. She said she wrote most of the songs two and a half to three years ago when she was in a darker and less healthy place before things like custody arrangements were worked out. To her, they reflect a moment in time, but as she was putting together the track list, she was concerned about where the line was, particularly for the sake of her children. Here’s a portion of her quote…
I was just crying, like, a lot. … It’s a big decision, right? Ending a relationship, you know, that’s gone on for years. You have children. It’s so involved. There are so many layers to it. … I just wrote a bunch of music, like two and a half to three years ago. And then I think the thinking came in when it was like, ‘What’s appropriate and inappropriate?’ … It’s hard when you have kids and you’re like, 'OK, how do I address this?' I picked the [songs] that I thought were… I mean there are definitely ones on there where 'Mommy was angry.' But mommies get angry, and that’s healthy, that happens. I don’t polish my life and show it to my children. They see it as a whole, which I think is healthier.
Clarkson later clarified that she wasn’t really concerned with the feelings of any of the adults involved, whether they be her own or her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock because people should be able to recognize they’re a portion of the story and a snapshot of a moment, rather than the totality of the relationship. In fact, the album is apparently going to be about a lot more than just heartbreak. It’ll represent the good, the bad and the ugly of the entire relationship, but that doesn’t mean she wanted her kids (or the general public) to hear everything. So, that’s where that dividing line of appropriate versus inappropriate came in.
Now that the divorce drama has had time to simmer and then cool off, it sounds like Clarkson is in a much better place emotionally. During the interview, she was able to speak candidly about the highs and lows and some of the good things she took from the relationship: specifically chemistry. She said she’s never felt a spark with anyone like she did initially with Blackstock. Their chemistry was something she’d never experienced, which is what drew her in. But the relationship and the time to reflect has ultimately made her realize that the chemistry itself isn’t enough and sometimes you have great chemistry with someone you shouldn’t be with. Here’s what she said…
I never really connected before my ex-husband.I never connected with anybody like that. I’d never felt that. … I just remembered the first time we even met. I was like, 'Whoa.' I just felt something. … And then it can go very poorly, chemistry. You can have amazing chemistry with somebody that you really shouldn’t really be with, you know? Not that that one person is good or bad, whatever. It’s just not a healthy environment. So you know, I just feel like chemistry is a beautiful and amazing thing, but it’s powerful for the good and the bad. … It makes you do stupid stuff.
The Kelly Clarkson Show, which is changing locations, was renewed several months ago through 2025, thanks in large part to how much audiences connect with the popular singer. She’s so affable and so open and honest about her life, whether it be the highs of stardom, the lows of divorce or hilarious one-offs like being mistaken at an event for a seat filler. It sounds like she found a good balance here between opening up but keeping some things private for the sake of her family. That being said, I’ll keep my fingers crossed at some point in the future we hear at least one of those songs she deemed too harsh to release, maybe when the kids are a little older.
