Kelly Clarkson sat down with podcast host and author Glennon Doyle to dive into her latest album, Chemistry, and all the conflicting emotions it brought to light.
LISTEN NOW: We Can Do Hard Things with Glennon Doyle | Kelly Clarkson: Red Flags, Divorce & Starting Over
Ever since her divorce in June 2020, Kelly Clarkson is in her era of finding power in vulnerability and honesty, and it’s working. Akin to her candid talk show conversations, the 41-year-old singer got personal as the latest guest star on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast.
Immediately joking about helpful brutalness in Doyle’s book, the group wasted no time discussing her divorce-inspired, rollercoaster album Chemistry. To their surprise, however, Clarkson revealed that what she called her “lowest point” was years before she had even met her ex. “It was like my heyday for me. It was the third tour we’d done on the Breakaway album, I was very tired, I had walking pneumonia twice, I was just beat. Nobody cared,” she said, recalling her extensive scheduling. But, ever the hard worker, Clarkson said she pressured herself to push forward, which eventually left her “with nowhere to go.” She continued, “At one point I turned around and go, ‘Oh wow, the only place I actually feel safe or heard is when I’m on stage doing a show.’ That’s a really big problem, that’s a problem.” In retrospect, Clarkson also realized how a pattern of brightside-thinking was present in her newest album too, with the lyric, “Pick the weeds and keep the flowers” from the song “sober.”
Her album, Chemistry, walks through the highs and lows of her past marriage, including the internal battle of deciding to stay together or separate. The greatest conflict, she said, was feeling, “the tug of loving someone so deeply, and the tug of needing to love yourself as much or more.” Ultimately, staying in a doomed relationship was a double-edged sword for both Clarkson and her two children. “Love is tricky, it really convinces you that you’re doing the right thing, or this is what you should do,” Clarkson said. “It’s just a very hard thing when you love someone so deeply, to separate that. And to have the right answer, which I don’t. When my kids ask me sometimes, I’m like, I can’t give you that whole story.”
Yet, writing the album wasn’t just unpacking Clarkson’s experiences, but aided her in moving on from them. She described her recovery as a resurgence of self, and specifically, a version of herself that she didn’t even realize had faded. “I remember we were at the photo shoot for Chemistry,” she recalled. “Even being at that photo shoot, it was the first time, like even my whole team that’s known me pre-him, after him, all that, were like ‘Oh my god, there you are. I didn’t even realize it.’ Everything was so different.”
And while Clarkson says she’s open to falling in love and “whatever the future holds,” she is also entirely capable of being on her own. Once an American Idol sweetheart, Clarkson has seemingly struck a balance between being a beacon of cheer with inspiring pop hits, and simply being human.
To listen in on the full conversation and hear the singer’s insight, check out her episode of the We Can Do Hard Things podcast here on the Audacy app.
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