No cover is off-limits for Kelly Clarkson, even if it's a song by her ex-Stepmother-In-Law.
The American Idol star covered Reba McEntire's hit song "Till You Love Me" on the latest episode of her hit daytime talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show.
The stunning rendition featured stripped-back accompaniment, with Clarkson only joined by musical director Jason Halbert on piano and guitarist Jaco Caraco. The "Since U Been Gone" singer stood centerstage in a floral top and green pants and her audience watched in awe.
The two singers were formerly related when they both married into the same family. In 1989, McEntire married manager and guitarist Narvel Blackstock, becoming stepmother to his three children. In 2013, Clarkson married her stepson, Brandon Blackstock, which made her Reba McEntire's step-daughter-in-law.
The musical royal family broke up in 2015, when McEntire and Blackstock called it quits. Then, in June of 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce from her husband. Their tumultuous breakup was documented in her 2023 album, Chemistry, which largely covered several aspects of her divorce.
Once they both were separated from the same family, many wondered if the rift in family dynamic would have any effect on Clarkson and McEntire's relationship. On an episode of Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live, People reports that Clarkson shut down any speculation that it had turned their friendship sour.
"Not at all. We were friends before Brandon and I got together," Clarkson said about the Grammy-winner. "We text each other all the time."
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The "Breakaway" singer said that she and McEntire are "both women of sound mind that know that life doesn't work out sometimes." While comparing the fact that they had gotten divorced from a father and son, she went on to say that it was "literally the same thing."
"So yeah, no hard feelings there. Just feelings!" Clarkson assured music fans. "We've even worked together since then - on The Voice as well."
"Till You Love Me" is a tune about the feelings of unrequited love, with lyrics like: "But if dreams give you power / Oh, then I'm strong enough to offer my heart / I will never give up till you love me / Till you love me." It was originally released in 1994 as the third single from the "Turn On the Radio" singer's Read My Mind album. It was written in collaboration with Bob DiPiero and Gary Burr, Whiskey Riff reports.
Clarkson starts every episode of her talk show with a "Kellyoke" performance, covering a classic song or a new hit by a wide range of artists. Frequently going viral on social media, the songs typically garner responses from the artists she is covering.
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After the talk show host performed Katy Perry's "Wide Awake," the "Teenage Dream" singer admitted that she "can never sing that again." Additionally, Teddy Swims said that her cover of "Some Things I'll Never Know" last month left him "sobbing."
