Kelly Clarkson's Kids River & Remy Perform w_ Her at Las Vegas Show
Kelly Clarkson's Kids River & Remy Perform w_ Her at Las Vegas Show
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00:00 Kelly Clarkson had some pretty special guests join her on stage.
00:29 While performing at her recent Las Vegas residency concert over the weekend, the Grammy winner
00:34 brought her 7-year-old son, Remy, and 9-year-old daughter, River, on stage to help her sing
00:38 her hit 2015 track "Heartbeat Song."
00:42 But the proud mama made sure her little ones did not sing a specific line in the song.
00:55 It's clear Kelly's kids got her musical talents.
00:59 During the trio's Friday night performance, Kelly, who shares Remy and River with ex-husband
01:03 Brandon Blackstock, took to Instagram to gush over her kids, writing, quote, "Both of my
01:08 kiddos backstage getting ready to join me on stage in Vegas.
01:11 Nothing will ever be as cool and amazing as these two little humans that will always have
01:16 my whole heart."
01:18 Ex-Hollywood last spoke with Kelly following her release of her latest album, Chemistry,
01:22 back in July.
01:23 And at the time, the 41-year-old opened up about how personal these tracks are for her.
01:28 On Chemistry, so many different emotional states and stages of relationships.
01:34 What was the most cathartic song for you to write and perform?
01:40 The hardest one to write, but the one I probably like a little bit more than the others, is
01:46 Lighthouse.
01:49 And that's just, it's a really intense song for me, and it was kind of me figuring out,
01:53 just finalizing what I was going to do, and I had, you know, it had come to the conclusion
01:59 that it wasn't going to work, you know?
02:01 So that was a really hard, it was just a really hard pill to swallow, honestly, when you love
02:07 someone so intensely.
02:08 So that's probably my favorite right now on the album.
02:11 But like, fun to perform, I will say, Favorite Kind of High is a jam.
02:15 I love singing Favorite Kind of High, and Red Flag Collector.
02:18 Red Flag Collector, not only am I having a good time, just take a gander at my band.
02:23 Like, my band loves that song, I think, more than anything.
02:27 They were fun to watch.
02:28 At the Belasco Theater, I feel like they were holding hands.
02:32 I was watching.
02:33 Yeah, I know!
02:34 Aaron, yeah, Aaron and Jesse, yeah.
02:36 Everybody just really enjoys the sarcasm of that song, so.
02:39 And they all lived it with me, you know, for years, you know?
02:43 Now, Kelly, do you feel your better work is heartache or happiness?
02:48 Because you've done the full gamut of your songwriting, but what do you think?
02:52 What makes better work?
02:53 Unfortunately, I do think that, like, tragedy and really huge moments that are, just make
03:02 a huge impact on us.
03:03 A lot of those are more the tragic moments of our life.
03:05 And I think, not to say they all are, but I think that's where good music comes out,
03:12 or at least real music, like raw music and authenticity.
03:16 And I don't know, I think people connect with that, like, authenticity and just the brokenness.
03:27 I know that sounds sad.
03:29 You don't want to connect with people that way, but I think that people, you know, have
03:32 felt that way, and so they'll relate to the lyrics.
03:34 That's how I do with other albums.
03:36 I mean, think of your favorite albums right now.
03:37 And like, usually, they're like, I mean, one of my favorite albums and one of everyone's
03:41 favorite albums is "Jagged Little Pill" by Elena Smorecet.
03:43 And it's like, that's a really, that relationship did not go well.
03:47 It didn't end well, you know?
03:49 And it sucks that, like, we go through stuff like that.
03:52 But the cool thing about it is, as an artist, we have this gift of, like, that's our healing
03:57 and that's our process of getting through things.
04:00 And then you get to share it with people and connect with people that might, you know,
04:02 because I remember when Billie Eilish came out with "Happier Than Ever," and I was like,
04:06 I will cover this song because I feel like it's mine.
04:09 Like I related so much to that song and so many of us did, which is why it's a huge hit.
04:15 And it's just so well done and written and produced.
04:18 And I just, there's nothing like an artist releasing something that you feel like, that's
04:24 mine, like, that's my world, you know?
04:26 And so I hope what that did for me is what my album will do for people as well.
04:31 And Kevi, when you were in the studio for this album, was it Alanis and Billie?
04:35 Was that who you were listening to?
04:37 No, I wasn't listening to anything.
04:39 I literally wrote so many songs and I was just, well, I was listening to my thoughts
04:44 and the rollercoaster ride of that.
04:47 And it just was a really, because I know people think of it as like songs and like, oh, you're
04:52 listening, you know, it's just a different thing when it's your life, you know, and you're
04:56 going through it.
04:57 So I wasn't listening to anything at all, except for just my voice, you know, memos
05:02 of these songs that I was, you know, were using as like a vessel to, for a therapy really.
05:09 So I love that.
05:10 I love therapy.
05:11 Kev, before I Hate Love, you mentioned the notebook and it's complicated.
05:17 Why those two films?
05:18 Well, I just was trying to find an example, like of what we're sold on and then what's
05:26 real, right?
05:28 I am a hundred percent, I believe in the notebook and that kind of love.
05:33 I do.
05:34 I believe that that exists.
05:35 I just believe that that's a rarity.
05:37 And I think, you know, sometimes movies, you know, it's a movie, you know, and it's a story
05:42 and or book first, obviously, but I just mean like, it's, it's a story.
05:45 And I think some people will hold up life to like that.
05:48 And I was making a joke of like, it's complicated.
05:50 It's more like it, you know, you do think, and it's like, you know, I Hate Love is really
05:55 that Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin thing.
05:57 It's like this chemistry that you can't deny that's happening, but it's so not good for
06:01 you, you know, and you want to end up with someone like Steve Martin, who's great and
06:06 his character in the movie.
06:07 So I just thought I was looking for like an example with movies and I just chose those.
06:12 I do love the notebook.
06:15 I do believe in that kind of love.
06:17 I just, I just was looking for humor and hurt.
06:21 And then the inspiration for Favorite Kind of Love.
06:24 Oh, Favorite Kind of High?
06:26 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:27 Favorite Kind of High is basically that it's, I was very adamant with my label when they
06:34 were like, are you going to write about this?
06:36 Or what are we doing like with your next project?
06:38 And I was like, Oh, I don't know.
06:39 I'm just doing this for me right now, you know, and whenever we decided to start actually
06:44 working on album, I was very adamant from the very beginning that I did not want just
06:48 like a divorce breakup album.
06:51 I wanted that to be in there because obviously it's my life what happened and I went through
06:55 something, but I wanted the whole thing to be in there because to diminish a relationship
07:00 down to just the bad is a disservice, I think.
07:04 So Favorite Kind of High was, you know, and Magic and, you know, there's just songs on
07:09 there that are that point out that like, it wasn't all bad.
07:13 Like there was, you know, fire and passion and magic and all these things that are the
07:17 reason why you fought so long, you know, and why you try so hard.
07:21 And that is real, you know, that was real.
07:23 So I just wanted from the beginning to make sure the whole album was like the scope of
07:28 an entire relationship and not just the doom.
07:31 So yeah.
07:32 Well, I think Kelly, so many people just want to focus on the doom, but it's like, no, no,
07:37 no, there was a whole full story there.
07:38 There was some black, white and gray, which is funny because I've never written a happy
07:42 like, pop song like Favorite Kind of High.
07:46 So it's like something cool came out of that.
07:48 And I don't know that it would have come out had all this not happened and me like really
07:52 examined everything.
07:53 Love that.
07:54 Now the Vegas residency chemistry is described as an intimate evening, Kelly.
07:59 Tell me why it's intimate.
08:01 Well, I wanted the really important part for me was I had planned a Vegas residency like
08:06 pre COVID and it was a completely different show.
08:09 It was more of like that Vegas show that you really, you know, like pyro and like things
08:15 like a big, big, huge thing.
08:17 And it was just, I was in a different place when we planned that.
08:22 And then my life, yeah, it happened.
08:25 And so I just wrote this record.
08:28 I felt like it wasn't the same show, you know, so we're coming in and it's more of a storyteller.
08:34 It's more rock and roll, just lighting and the musicians and singers and having moments
08:38 with the, you know, these intimate moments with the audience.
08:40 And because people also know me now as like the talk show host, right?
08:43 So it's like, it's just kind of incorporating everything under the umbrella for this night
08:47 or 10 nights.
08:49 And I just wanted to be clear that this was not a normal Vegas show.
08:55 Like it's more of like, you know, an intimate storyteller kind of vibe and, you know, more
09:01 like you're chilling with me in my living room kind of thing.
09:03 I love it.
09:04 Now, now Usher is in Vegas the same time you're there.
09:08 Any chance you two-
09:09 Well, damn.
09:10 I mean, hey daddy, come on pop.
09:12 I hope people come to mine.
09:13 They're going to come to both, but any chance you two could pop over into each other's show?
09:20 Oh, I wouldn't, I would never mind.
09:22 I love singing with people.
09:24 Like that's like, I may, I'm like, I don't make people, but I love when people ask to
09:27 do it on my show on the talk show.
09:28 Cause I think it's cool to do unexpected things like that.
09:32 And it's, it breaks the monotony for us artists as well, just to do something, you know, random.
09:37 So, but no, I haven't thought about anything.
09:40 Honestly, I haven't done shows in a long time.
09:43 So I think mama's just, you know, I just want to make sure mine are good.
09:47 I haven't, look, I sing like two minute songs on TV every week.
09:51 Like, so I'm, you know, I want to make sure I am vocally healthy and like taking care
09:55 of my audience.
09:56 They're paying their good money.
09:57 So I want to sound great at every show.