Kelly Clarkson on Her Post-Divorce Album: Pain is ‘Real Fresh’

Clarkson spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the emotional experience of recording and performing her new album Chemistry.

From The Heart

“The emotions kind of murdered me,” Clarkson shared a week after a live performance where she had to pause and apologize to the audience for getting overwhelmed.

She said rehearsals were “pretty flawless and easy and great,” but “then all of a sudden it was just like a wave washed over me.”

After getting divorced from her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock after nearly seven years of marriage, Kelly Clarkson’s new album, Chemistry, is an honest reflection of her experiences. However, some of the songs she wrote were “too truth-telling,” so she had to scrap them.

“I know people will hear this record and be like, ‘Oh, da–n, she went there!’ and I’m like, ‘No, I promise you I didn’t,'” she continued.

Clarkson wrote the record a few years ago, but chose to wait until she was ready to share it with her fans. She is excited to finally be able to release the music and hopes her fans can relate to the lyrics.

Common Ground

“No matter what album you’re listening to, it is kind of nice to have these people that went through stuff that other people are going through, and you just don’t feel alone in it,” she shared. “Because I’ll tell you what, that’s the worst: when you’re in a crowded room or you’re smiling for America while doing your job and you just feel so sad and alone. That’s the worst feeling ever.”

She told EW about preparing for the emotions that are bound to surface during her Vegas residency this summer.

“Pain can still feel real fresh when one is still, daily, trying to come out on the other side. I don’t have control over it. But what I do have control over is the fact that I know I don’t have control over it, so it’s fine. It’s supposed to be what it’s supposed to be. You have to learn to let that go and live in the moment, whatever it is.”

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