Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock are in the final stages of a very messy divorce. Hard feelings can be expected given how rough it all was. Clarkson appears to be throwing shade at her former hubby by carefully tweaking some Billie Eilish lyrics. Here’s what’s going on.
Kellyoke For The Ages
The Kelly Clarkson Show is one of the top shows in daytime talk. Clarkson is wrestling the mantle once held by Ellen DeGeneres through her kind demeanor, and fun attitude. Among her most popular segments is Kellyoke, where the original American Idol winner performs some well-known covers. Earlier this week, Clarkson’s tune rang close to home.
To close out September, Clarkson covered Eilish’s song “Happier Than Ever.” The song is about getting over a breakup, with an opening line of “when I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever.” This would all be meaningful on its own, but Clarkson took things a step further. She changed a few of the words around to add a more personal touch.
Some lines were tweaked ever so slightly. Instead of singing “shut ‘em all out for you ‘cause I was a kid,” Clarkson sings “shut ‘em all out for you just like a kid.” The change is small but significant. Eilish is 19, so saying she’s “was a kid” makes sense. Clarkson saying “like a kid” implies that she was behaving even more immaturely and was blinded by her former partner. It rings a bit more critical of herself than the Eilish original.
Changing Spaces
The most important change isn’t a few dropped f-bombs, no. In Eilish’s version, she sings “You made me hate this city.” Clarkson completely rewrites the line: “I get it, you hate this city.” Blackstock famously wanted to move the family to Montana and even holed up there amidst the divorce. Clarkson’s change implies that Blackstock was a moan about homes in Los Angeles or Tennessee, both of which she’s recently sold. Maybe Clarkson’s telling her ex to get over himself or prepare to get moving.
Rare Good News
Just a day after changing this line, Clarkson received some excellent news. The court awarded her sole custody of the Montana Ranch. This should clear the way for Clarkson to satisfyingly kick Blackstock out of the house, and out of her life. You shouldn’t expect it to go smoothly, Blackstock has seemingly dragged this process out as painfully as possible, but the victory is still huge.
The performance is a powerful one, and maybe it can close an ugly chapter in Clarkson’s life.