Kelly Clarkson’s Divorce Inspiring New Music For Her Next Album

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Kelly Clarkson is already writing songs for her next album that are inspired by the pain over her divorce from husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock. She made the revelation to her musical hero Garth Brooks when the 58-year-old superstar appeared on her daytime talk show on Dec. 14. Kelly told Garth that listening to his 1990 song “The Dance” about trying to focus on the good times after a relationship ends helped her “therapeutically” write a song based on that feeling.

“So I’m going through a divorce and there’s been like a lot of books and people always give you stuff to like help, especially when you have kids and stuff,” Kelly explained. “And I know you’ve been divorced as well. It’s like, man, there’s so much shame and guilt, and everybody sends you stuff, and I was just kind of working through it.”

“I couldn’t quite nail down the feeling, I was like, you don’t want to crap on it, you don’t want to say that didn’t count or matter, but you don’t know what to put in it because it didn’t work out how you wanted,” she revealed before telling Garth how his song inspired her. “I kid you not, I was listening to my playlist and ‘The Dance’ came on and I was like, that’s the thing.”

“I literally wrote this whole thing therapeutically for me. It’s actually on my next album,” the “Because of You” singer revealed. She then sang a line for him that went: “Even though my heart is broken, it was worth a dance anyway.” Kelly noted that it wasn’t “a ripoff” of Garth’s mega hit, which has a similar line in the chorus: “I could have missed the pain / but I’d have had to miss the dance.

“I was bawling,” she said of revisiting “The Dance” following her split, “because it is true, there’s a lot of loss, a lot of grief and a lot of change, especially if you have kids.” Kelly has two children with Brandon, six-year-old daughter River Rose and 4-year-old son Remy.

Kelly said that she’d loved “The Dance” since childhood, but now sees it from a new perspective with her her marriage coming to such a contentious end. “All the books were helpful…it’s so funny, I guess because I’m a musician, I was listening in my room [crying] and I was listening to ‘The Dance,’ I got the point,” she continued. “Sometimes that’s so crazy…you’ve known this song your entire life and you freak out when it actually is a direct impact.”

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock — Kelly Clarkson in happier times with now estranged husband Brandon Blackstock. Photo credit: AP Images

Kelly, 38, filed for divorce from Brandon, 43, on June 4 in a Los Angeles court after nearly seven years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences.” On Nov. 30, Kelly was awarded temporary primary custody of their children, and they will live with her in Los Angeles, after Brandon asked that the kids split their time living with him in Montana. He then demanded $301K a month in spousal support from his Grammy winning estranged wife, and another $135K a month in child support, even though he will only have the kids every other weekend.

Kelly then filed documents with the California Labor commission on Dec. 10, claiming Brandon defrauded her out of a good chunk of her fortune, via “illegal services” he and his dad, Kelly’s manager Narvel Blacstock had performed. The “Stronger” singer alleged that Brandon and Narvel defrauded her by “demanding unconscionable fees and compensation” from Kelly for “illegal services” and that they “acted in conflict of interest” with her best interests.