Kelly Clarkson was crowned the first-ever American Idol 13 years ago, and she's remained one of the most successful winners—and pop artists in general—ever since. Through the years, she's given women of all ages anthems for breakups ("Since U Been Gone"), confidence in singledom, ("Miss Independent"), and generally loving yourself ("Stronger"), and with her latest album Piece by Piece (available now), she's giving us a little bit of everything.
When I sat down with Kelly in NYC, she revealed the emotional and powerful stories behind three songs she penned on the album, including one that takes a stand for women's rights. And with two Sia-penned songs on this album, I questioned why they hadn't sang together yet. Apparently that was thisclose to happening—and because it fell through, Kelly wants to do an onstage team-up. Keep reading to see what else she teased about potential collaborations with upcoming tour mates Pentatonix, her love for Taylor Swift, ideas to transform "Drunk in Love," and if she'd ever sit down at the American Idol judges' panel.
The title track, "Piece by Piece," is such a raw, emotional song. How did it come together, and what was your mind-set writing it?
Kelly Clarkson: I had [my daughter] River, and even from holding her the first day, I was like, how could anyone walk away from that? Then I started thinking that my husband [Brandon Blackstock] is such a great father. He's not an audience guy—he is onstage doing the work with me. He changes diapers, he stays up, and if I've had a late night, he'll wake up with her in the morning. We're definite partners, and I felt so lucky.
I was talking to my sister on the phone about how sometimes girls with daddy issues don't find men like that! You find men who are all you knew, and I just feel so lucky. Maybe it's because I waited and worked through my 20s. It's a positive song, even though I know it sounds sad. I don't know what my father went through as a child, and I don't know why he left and made the decisions he made, but everyone's human. I don't understand it for me, but I understand the depth of what that is—having a child—now, and he's made me want to be that much more present in my family.
Was it a difficult song to write and put those feelings out there?
Kelly: It wasn't a hard song to write, but we have been rehearsing it, and I have yet to get through it—emotionally, I don't mean vocally. I haven't gone through it yet once, so that will prove to be interesting. It's not even sad tears; it's just such a beautiful thing that I have found. It's completely magical because there's a little part of me that didn't even know that it existed. I knew that this kind of love existed and that other people found it, but it's such a breathtaking moment. I'm going to just have to deaden myself and not listen to the words that I'm singing. [Laughs] I'm an emotional singer anyway, so it's easy for me to get lost in any story that I'm the vessel for at that moment.__
Maybe not the best song for me to karaoke at my next night out, then?
Kelly: Maybe at the end of the night when things are winding down and everyone's emotional. After they've had way too much to drink.
"I Had a Dream" is another song you wrote that has an entirely different message. It seems like it's about wanting people in this generation to be more than just their sex lives.
Kelly: That's the funny thing about me. I'm not super conservative, and I have no problem with people being risque or owning your sexuality or even putting it out there. I have a problem when it's all you are because you're not being fair to yourself; you have more depth than this. Women have been pioneering for years for equal rights, and we have more to offer, so I guess it frustrates me when people only bring one part of their personality to the table. It's like, you're making the rest of us look bad! You're not giving yourself enough credit. There are even singers that focus on that, and no one's going to remember how great of a voice you have because they're not focused on that. I feel like as a generation, we sell ourselves short. I just expected more from us. I was very hormonal when I was writing—I was pregnant. [Laughs]
There was a line that kind of shocked me when I first heard it: "Spreading your legs instead of using your words."
Kelly: Yeah, my mom was like, "Good one!" [Laughs and fake a grimace] She wasn't excited about that, probably. But you know what it is? I have no problem with people being sexual or talking openly about sex—I just have a problem with it being the only thing…I want you to show that you're more than that, and that's where that line came from.
__"Tightrope" was a song you said you wrote a while ago. One of the lines is "I still can't compete." Was that about the industry or personal relationships? __
Kelly: It was about a specific relationship. I feel like you can be in relationships—whether friends or dating—and you can move mountains to try to prove your love to them or try to prove you're there for them. There's just nothing I can do to show that I love you more or show you that you matter. And it's just depressing sometimes. I feel like I'm working my butt off over here to try to do that…but there's nothing anyone can do to make someone feel significant or loved—that person has to feel like they're worth that. It took time to figure out in a friendship of mine, but that's what I wrote it about. It was just that final straw that I can't keep working at this. It's also that type of relationship—whether it's a lifelong friend or a lover—is a whole "My Life Would Suck Without You" situation. You're like, "God, you drive me bananas, but at the end of the day, I can't walk away from you."
When you write songs about specific people, is it at the end of a relationship as you use it for catharsis?
Kelly: No, it's during, which some people don't like. I might give out a little too much information. I'm very honest, and I've never written something that I haven't said to someone or we haven't hashed out. But I write about the experience during it, and I think it's the only time you can write. For me, personally, you have to be there to be able to get that out. It's very cathartic for me—it's free therapy! It's me getting through whatever that is, and sometimes you feel like someone's not listening to you or you just aren't communicating how you want to say it. Sometimes writing is better for me.
Since you were pregnant, you said you couldn't write as much this time around...
Kelly: Ugh! I didn't feel inspired. And everything I did write—"Tightrope," "Piece by Piece," and "I Had a Dream"—is all super intense. I didn't want a whole dark album! [Laughs]
You have two songs that Sia wrote for you, "Invincible" and "Let Your Tears Fall." I can definitely sense her style on them. How did that collaboration come together?
Kelly: She has that anthemic thing, and I love it. We had actually never met, but my producers Greg [Kurstin] and Jesse [Shatkin] had worked with her on "Chandelier" and some other songs. We'd always been in this group for years now, and I remember we were tweeting and I was like, "Write me a song! I love your songs!" Because I love anthems, obviously, says my career. [Laughs] I just love her writing and how passionate she is, and I was just so excited at the opportunity. Sia and I have been texting every day since I recorded it because she's just so sweet and gives praises and compliments so freely and effortlessly. It's so nice and refreshing in this industry, especially since she's a female in the industry doing the same thing.
Would you ever collaborate with her?
Kelly: We almost collaborated on "Invincible." The only reason we didn't is because it's probably going to be my next single, and she's got a single out too. We're on the same label, so we were like, "Ooh, we don't want to compete against each other!" Maybe someday. Maybe a performance I can get her to sing with me, especially since she doesn't show her face. It could be so cool. I could be the face! That's kind of really cool, that symbolism, because she wrote the song and she's not being seen, and I'm singing it. Look at what we just came up with there! You should just be a producer for my show.
Maybe you can co-headline a tour! You just announced your awesome summer plans with Pentatonix and Eric Hutchinson. Pentatonix has covered some of your songs—what brought you together?
Kelly: I met one of them when Rozzi Crane opened up for Maroon 5 and me on the Honda Civic Tour. She's friends with them, and [Pentatonix member] Scott [Hoying] and I met backstage. Literally four days before that, somebody had mentioned Pentatonix to me because they covered my song ["Since U Been Gone"] and my assistant and I got lost in a YouTube vortex and googled all their songs and everything they did and we were so impressed by them. Then I was walking backstage past Rozzi's room [and saw Scott], and I started flipping out on him, like, "I am not bullshitting you. We YouTubed you for an hour!" I was such a fan, and then it came they were probably going to be touring at the same time, and I was like, "I want to tour with them!" I love them, and they're from the same area as me in Texas.
Do you think you guys will team up onstage?
Kelly: I want to! I'm looking forward to doing that…I have an idea in my set list where I'd love for them to join, but we'll see if it works out.
Is there anything you've been loving lately that you want to cover on this tour?
Kelly: This is the most ridiculous idea, but it's gonna work! [Laughs] I love "Drunk in Love" by Beyonce, and I'm really looking forward to doing it. I want to do it a little differently, production-wise. I have this idea, and I really hope it comes to fruition because I love that song. It's just melodically great and the production is so cool, so I'm hoping with my background singers we can do something really cool.
It's a lower range for you…until it gets super high.
Kelly: Yeah, that's what I love about Beyonce—we have a very similar range! That's why I love covering songs by her and Sia and even Adele. I just never really sing low because everyone loves me in the stratosphere, but I love a good alto part.
You and Taylor Swift have similar careers in that she went from country to pop and you went from more pop to dabbling in country. Are you ready to go full-on country next?
Kelly: Yeah, she likes different genres, and I love her new record. I'm obsessed with it. It's one of those things that I have a 13-year-old daughter, and we can both listen to it in the car and enjoy it. But I get what you're saying. We are similar in the sense that she doesn't look at music as a boundary or a limit, and I don't either. I never want to limit myself. At the core of me, I love anything soulful, so I've already been working on something country, and I'm very excited about it. I had been working on this record at the same time and had one more record to release that definitely had to be pop, so who knows what the future holds. I think it's more exciting for the audience not to do the same thing all the time. I've always loved country and R&B. I love mixing it up, and I love that Taylor's doing that. I like her country stuff, but [1989] is my favorite record of hers.
Do you have a favorite song off 1989?
Kelly: Ooh, I love the one she did with Imogen Heap. Is it called "Clean"? Love, love, love "Clean." It's so great. Gosh, I love "Clean."
You should cover that on the tour, for sure.
Kelly: I'll probably cover something off that album because the fans will definitely want me to. The fan requests are blowin' up. It's like, "Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift. Adele, Adele. Taylor Swift, Adele, Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift."
There's a great song called "Nostalgia" on the album. What are you nostalgic for? Like your favorite old movies, music, and TV?
Kelly: Any time I watch The Goonies I am reminded of my childhood. It's one of my favorite movies and my favorite throwbacks. Music-wise, God, I guess it's Duran Duran or Madonna or old Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. And '90s country is my favorite. I was a big Travis Tritt, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, the Judds, Shania Twain fan. God, I love Shania—her first record was my favorite. Where she's on a cover, and there's a horse on it. [Sings] "Home ain't where his heart is anymore" — what is that? [Ed. note: "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)" is off Shania's second album, The Woman in Me, but she poses with a wolf on her first album, Shania Twain]. I really think that whatever stage was junior high and high school for you, that's your favorite time in that music. Like Prince, that's always going to be your favorite.
The early 00s is when you won American Idol. Would you ever judge on it? The closest you got was on Duets!
Kelly: Yes, and I loved [Duets] because I love singing and harmonizing. That's actually where John [Legend] and I met, which is so great, and Jennifer [Nettles], who I just saw on Broadway and is frickin' amazing. But with American Idol, they have asked me to do it before, and I would totally do it, but they've always asked me at the most horrible time. It's like two weeks before my tour starts, and I'm like, "I can't be in two places at once!" But I love those shows and what better example than someone who won one and is successful. I love those shows, but I love my career too. So if it doesn't fit, then I'm not going to say yes.
One last thing: My favorite song of yours is an unreleased one you performed live back in like 2005, "Don't." Will you ever release it?
Kelly: Oh my gosh! You just brought up "Don't." I love that song. Oh my gosh, that song is so sad. I love that song. You know what? That would make a good country song! Man, I'm like, "What?!" I forgot about that song. Now you've got me thinking…
__Piece by Piece is available now. Kelly's summer tour kicks off with Pentatonix and Eric Hutchinson on July 11 in Hershey, Pa.
