Kelly Clarkson Says She Never Felt Chemistry with Anyone Before Her Ex-Husband

"It can go very poorly, chemistry," the 'Mine' singer said of Brandon Blackstock and her upcoming album 'Chemistry,' which drops June 23

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic

Kelly Clarkson is opening up about the pros and cons of feeling such an intense connection with her ex-husband.

The original American Idol winner's upcoming tenth studio album Chemistry will dive into her relationship with Brandon Blackstock, and it turns out, its title comes from the fact that Clarkson never felt those sparks with anyone before him.

"I never really connected before my ex-husband. And I never connected with anybody like that," she explained to Nancy O'Dell on TalkShopLive Thursday. "I'd never felt that. That level of just chemical reaction, I just never felt that and I just remembered the first time we even met, I was like, 'Woah.' I just felt something."

However, that energy isn't always positive. "It can go very poorly, chemistry," Clarkson pointed out. "You can have amazing chemistry with somebody who you really shouldn't be with. Not that one person is good or bad. It's just not a healthy environment. I just feel like chemistry is a beautiful and amazing thing, but it's powerful for the good and the bad. Makes you do stupid stuff."

The "Mine" singer filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences, and it was finalized last year.

Soon after their split, Clarkson began writing this album. "I wasn’t thinking at all. I was just crying, like a lot," she shared with O'Dell. "It's a big decision, right? Ending a relationship that's gone on for years. You have children. It's so involved. There are so many layers to it. So, I don't know. I don't think I thought really at all."

The "Favorite Kind of High" singer also revealed that we'll see many sides of her on the album. "There's definitely ones on there where 'Mommy was angry,' but mommies get angry and that's healthy, that happens," she explained. "I don't polish my life and show it to my children. They see it as a whole, which I think is healthier."

Today, she has distance from the raw emotions. "I wrote these so long ago that I'm in a different place," Clarkson clarified. "But it is hard, because I've had to sing them all live. And I'm incapable of not feeling and going to that moment, so that's hard, emotionally. But I'm in a different place now then when I wrote these, and a much healthier place."

Chemistry is scheduled to be released June 23, 2023.

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