Kelly Clarkson breaks down onstage introducing a reworked “Piece by Piece” 12 days before ex-husband Brandon Blackstock’s death.
Kelly Clarkson delivered a raw, emotional moment onstage during her Las Vegas residency on July 26, a performance that resurfaced in a viral video recorded by a fan just days before the death of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.
In the clip, the 43-year-old star repeatedly fights back tears while introducing a newly reworked version of her 2015 ballad “Piece by Piece,” urging herself to “compartmentalize” before saying, “Screw it, let’s just sing it.” The footage has circulated widely as fans and media revisited the context of the song’s changing lyrics.
Clarkson told the audience that she has rewritten the song multiple times since its release — most notably once in 2023 after her 2020 separation from Blackstock — and that the newest version reflects where she is now: older, in therapy and focused on healing rather than anger.
She said the song’s original framing was a message to her absent father and that subsequent lyric tweaks were meant to better represent her current feelings and growth.
The 2023 lyric adjustment, heard in performances over the past two years, included lines fans interpreted as a response to the public and often contentious divorce proceedings — phrasing such as “I just walk away, when they ask for money.
I take care of me ’cause I love me” drew attention for its seeming reference to financial disputes tied to the split. In the latest iteration Clarkson sang on July 26, she emphasized self-love and shedding shame: “I’m learning every day how to love me. I let go of the shame that you taught me,” signaling a more reconciled, mature perspective.
The emotional video gained new resonance after Brandon Blackstock died of cancer on Aug. 7 at age 48, following a private battle with the illness.
Clarkson had postponed the remainder of her Las Vegas shows on Aug. 6, writing that her children’s father had been ill and that she needed to be “fully present” for their kids; the couple share daughter River, 11, and son Remington, 9. Blackstock’s death and the timing of Clarkson’s onstage breakdown have prompted an outpouring of sympathy and renewed attention to how she has navigated their past and co-parenting since their split.
A source told PEOPLE that Clarkson has been “devastated” for her children amid Blackstock’s private illness and that she remained protective of him for their sake, trying to keep matters respectful for the family’s wellbeing. Fans and colleagues have since offered messages of support as Clarkson balances grieving, parenting and her public life.
Whether viewed as a small, intimate moment from a single show or as part of a larger personal arc, the resurfaced video underscores how artists sometimes revise their work to reflect changing lives — and how those changes can take on new meaning when private tragedies unfold in public view.
