\n Kelly Clarkson<\/span> imageSPACE\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Kelly Clarkson<\/strong><\/a> has often changed lyrics in the wake of her divorce from Brandon Blackstock<\/strong><\/a>, and her latest tweaks turned a tribute to her ex into a self-empowerment anthem.<\/p>\n \u201cThis song I initially wrote just super hopeful, right? And well, sometimes hopeful turns into hopeless, so here we go, \u2018Piece by Piece,’\u201d Clarkson, 41, told her Las Vegas audience<\/a> on Saturday, August 5.<\/p>\n \u201cPiece by Piece\u201d was originally a song about how Blackstock, 46, was different from Clarkson\u2019s own absentee father. \u201cBut piece by piece, he collected me up \/ Off the ground, where you abandoned things, yeah \/ Piece by piece, he filled the holes that you burned in me \/ At six years old and you know,\u201d Clarkson sang on the original song, which was released in 2015.<\/p>\n During Saturday\u2019s show, Clarkson changed the above mentions of \u201che\u201d to \u201cI,\u201d belting, \u201cI collected me up\u201d and \u201cI filled the holes,\u201d making the song about her own ability to pick herself up after heartbreak. Those weren\u2019t the only changes.<\/p>\n The second part of the \u201cPiece by Piece\u201d chorus used to praise Blackstock as well. Instead of proclaiming, \u201cHe never walks away \/ He never asks for money \/ He takes care of me \/ He loves me,\u201d Clarkson now sings, \u201cI just walk away \/ when they ask for money \/ I take care of me \/ \u2019cause I love me.\u201d<\/p>\n Money was a point of contention in her divorce from Blackstock, whom Clarkson married in 2013 and split from in 2020. \u201c[Brandon] will not get one penny from [Kelly] that isn\u2019t ordered by the judge,\u201d a source told Us in January 2022.<\/p>\n Two months later, they finalized their divorce, and Clarkson had to pay Blackstock $45,601 a month in child support (they share custody<\/a> of daughter River, 8, and son Remington, 6) and $115,000 per month in spousal support until January 2024. She was also ordered to pay a one-time lump sum of $1.3 million as part of the settlement.<\/p>\n While her chorus used to conclude with \u201cPiece by piece, he restored my faith \/ That a man can be kind and a father could stay,\u201d Clarkson is her own faith healer in the 2023 update. \u201cPiece by piece, I restored my faith \/ That a heart can still beat, even when it breaks,\u201d she sings in her new version.<\/p>\n In the final verse, Clarkson changes more references from \u201che\u201d to \u201cI,\u201d noting she\u2019ll never walk away or break her children\u2019s hearts. While the original included the line, \u201cHe\u2019ll take care of things, he\u2019ll love her,\u201d Clarkson now belts, \u201cI\u2019ll take care of things when you leave scars.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time the American Idol<\/em> <\/a>alum changed lyrics in reference to her divorce. Clarkson \u2014 who released her first post-divorce album, Chemistry, earlier this year \u2014 changed the words while singing a cover of GAYLE<\/strong>\u2018s \u201cabcdefu\u201d<\/a> on NBC\u2019s The Kelly Clarkson Show<\/em><\/a> in March. She kept the altered lines and performed them without censorship during her July 29 Las Vegas show.<\/p>\n \u201cF\u2013k you and your dad<\/a> and the fact that you got half \/ and my broken heart \/ turned that s\u2013t into art,\u201d Clarkson sang.<\/p>\n![\"Kelly](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Kelly-Clarkson-Changes-Piece-by-Piece-Lyrics-After-Brandon-Blackstock-Divorce-to-Make-a-Self-Empowerment-Anthem-Inline.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Brandon Blackstock and Kelly Clarkson.<\/span> Matt Baron\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n