Kelly Clarkson plans to release her 10th studio album in 2023, and the inspiration behind her newest project is no secret. On 7 Sept., Clarkson told Variety that her new album — her first major studio release in over five years — is officially in the works.
"It's coming out next year. And this is an important album," said Clarkson, who filed for divorce from her husband of seven years, Brandon Blackstock, on June 4. "I'm working on this in therapy: I have a hard time vocalizing what I'm feeling sometimes, so music is helpful for me. It's just been really healing. I recorded the record quite some time ago."
"I'm through it now, but there is somebody else who is in it, and that's a hard place to be, especially if you feel alone.
At first, Clarkson was unsure if she'd release the album at all, wanting to keep her emotions about the divorce to herself. "You can be very angry in that state of mind," she said. "So some of the songs, they definitely cover the gamut of emotions; there's everything on the album. It's almost like the arc of a relationship, because the beginning is so beautiful and so sweet, and then it evolves. And sometimes it doesn't evolve how you want."
Inspired by her fans, Clarkson decided to take those emotions and share them with the world in the hopes that expressing her true feelings might help someone else do the same. "I'm through it now, but there is somebody else who is in it, and that's a hard place to be, especially if you feel alone," said the mother of two. "It's a hard thing to describe, it's a hard thing to go through publicly, it's hard with kids. This record, I think I wrote this for a reason — not just for me, but maybe someone else can benefit from it."