Kelly Clarkson has been open about how her upcoming album, “Chemistry,” addresses her relationship with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, and she shared about how he feels about it.
The original “American Idol” winner appeared on TODAY June 22 and was asked if she thinks about him listening to the album.
“No. I don’t know if he’d care either way,” she said, laughing.
She then said they had a conversation over text and she reminded him the album doesn’t only capture the negative aspects of their relationship.
“We did have a little text exchange about it,” she said.
“I don’t even remember why or how it happened, but I was like, ‘Hey, I didn’t just diminish us down to one (thing).’ You know what I’m saying? It’s all in there, the ride. The beauty is in there, as well. Now, there’s a lot of pain, but that’s what happens, for all of us.”
Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage. The exes reached a settlement in March 2022 and share joint custody of their children, daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remy, 7.
The “Since U Been Gone” singer, who shared on TODAY she is not “looking at all” for romance right now, said she remained in the marriage because she thought she could solve their problems.
“I’m like, ‘I can do this. I can handle so much,’” she said earlier this month on Glennon Doyle’s “We Can Do Hard Things” podcast. “My ego is like, ‘I can control my actions. I can control my reactions. I can do this and I can reach this person and I can get through.’”
“It becomes a little bit of your ego that gets in the way,” she added.
Clarkson also opened up on TODAY about being somewhat reluctant to release an album that touches on so many issues personal to her, especially since kids are involved.
“It's very personal. And I've always released personal music — I think I'm that kind of writer in general, everybody knows that,” she told Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly. “I think when you have kids — you both have kids, too — you kind of debate, ‘What am I going to do here?’ So I was very selective about the songs I picked for the album.”
“Chemistry,” which is Clarkson’s tenth studio album, goes on sale June 23. She will also perform a 10-night Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood beginning July 28 to support the album.
“This album is definitely the arc of an entire relationship,” she said in a Twitter video in March announcing the album's title. “And a whole relationship shouldn’t be just brought down to one thing. So there’s the good, the bad and the ugly kind of thing going on in it.”