Kelly Clarkson changed the lyrics to "Piece by Piece" about her ex

(Image credit: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty)

published 8 August 2023

Kelly Clarkson's song Piece by Piece, released in 2015, is a beautiful anthem about how her then-husband Brandon Blackstock restored her faith in a parent's love after Kelly herself grew up with a distant father.

But sadly, Kelly and Brandon officially divorced in 2021, and their proceedings didn't go very smoothly — including a difficult custody battle for their children River Rose and Remington Alexander.

So, when Kelly performed Piece by Piece at a recent show in Las Vegas for the first time since the divorce, it's perhaps unsurprising that she felt the need to modify the poignant lyrics.

She changed the love song into more of a self-love song, and if there's one thing Miley Cyrus has taught us, it's that we all love a good healing song.

The original lyrics to the song's chorus go as follows:

"But 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 / He never walks away, he never asks for money / He takes care of me, he loves me / Piece by piece, he restored my faith / That a man can be kind and a father could / Stay."

But on 5th August, Kelly changed the lyrics to the following:

"But piece by piece, I collected me / Off the ground where you abandoned things / Piece by piece, I filled the holes / That you burned in me at six years old / You know / I just walk away when they ask for money / I take care of me, 'cause I love me / Piece by piece, I restored my faith / That a heart can still beat even when it breaks."

Before singing it, she said: "This song, I initially wrote just super hopeful, right, and well, sometimes hopeful turns into hopeless, so here we go..."

Kelly is once again showing that she's found strength in a difficult situation.

Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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