Kelly Clarkson Describes New “Piece By Piece” Followup, “Rock Hudson”
Kelly Clarkson has been hard at work on her upcoming 8th studio album, due out in the new year. Though she had plenty of music ready last spring — and even released a single then, “I Dare You” — her album has taken a far more personal direction since her unexpected divorce from her husband of nearly seven years, Brandon Blackstock. Kelly has since described her new album as soundtracking a relationship from beginning to end. Today, Kelly shared some exciting new information about a song she wrote called “Rock Hudson,” named after the American actor. The new song references Kelly’s emotional 2015 single, “Piece By Piece.”
In her latest episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, Kelly was talking to country star Garth Brooks when she mentioned how song meanings can evolve. As she stated:
I have this song “Piece By Piece,” and I’m the writer. And it was all about– for me, I had never really experienced the loss of my father, like it never impacted me until I became a parent. Because then I knew what a parent should be, and what it felt like, and I was like, “Ooh, I didn’t really know the loss.” I didn’t know the impact. And so I wrote this song for my daughter and my husband at the time, and little did I know, it was only a piece of this puzzle, this full puzzle. Because now, I have this full puzzle sitting in front me– well, what I think is, you never know.
And literally, there’s a lyric on my new album, in a song called “Rock Hudson,” and it’s like, “By the way, piece by piece, I found out my hero is me.” Not in a negative sense. In a way of like, it’s almost too much to put on someone to do that for you. You have to do that yourself. Like “Piece By Piece,” you have to get there yourself. But it’s so funny, because I’m the writer! I was a little off, but I got there!
Hear Kelly’s full description of “Rock Hudson” in the video below:
“Piece By Piece,” the title track from Kelly’s 2015 album, was an emotional song Kelly wrote while pregnant with her first child, River Rose. She described it as a sequel to “Because Of You,” which itself was about her parents’ divorce and her father’s abandonment of her. In “Piece By Piece,” Kelly showed her then-husband as a much better man and a good father. Sadly, with their recent divorce, it makes sense that Kelly had to revisit this theme again.
“I Dare You” & A Mystery Duet
In April, Kelly released her single “I Dare You” – in five languages. The solo version is in English, but Kelly also did five duets, each in a different language. She sings it in Spanish with Blas Cantó, in French with Zaz, in German with Glasperlenspiel, in Arabic with Faouzia, and in Hebrew with Maya Buskila.
Kelly revealed that releasing a song with multi-language duets had been a goal of hers for many years. She never had the right song or team before, and she’s thrilled she got to record “I Dare You” with so many artists and languages. Kelly began this project in 2019, and though it was a lot of work, it was worth the time and effort!
In May, Kelly also talked about some other songs she’d recorded, including a mystery duet:
I already have several songs – MANY songs – for the album recorded. And I actually just recorded a duet that I wish I could talk about. But I can’t yet. It’s so good! I happened to sing with this person within the last six months, and we love singing together so much. It was so cool how our voices just sounded together. And I was just like “Ahh!” So my label found this perfect song, and we just recorded it.
I think it might be the next single we release, but I’m not sure, but it’s definitely on the next album coming out.
Kelly wouldn’t reveal who the mystery duet partner was or where they had recently sung together. It had to stay a secret for the time being! She continued to describe the song, first saying, “It’s kind of a different flow as a duet as well.” Kelly also said that, stylistically, it could have fit in on her last album, Meaning Of Life. Other songs harken back to albums like Breakaway and Stronger.
A New Direction… & New Tracklist?
At this point, it’s unclear if “I Dare You,” the mystery duet, or the other songs Kelly had recorded will still make the album. It’s also unclear if it will still sound like a mixture of Breakaway, Stronger, and Meaning Of Life. Since Kelly is pouring her emotions and personal experience – especially her divorce – into the music, this may turn out to be a very different album from what she’d started.
We can’t yet say whether it will have My December vibes, but that album has been her most personal and raw record to date. We predict her new album will have similar amounts of emotional vulnerability, but based on what Kelly shared today, it may also offer more wisdom and hope, too.
Recent Holiday Songs
Beyond her upcoming album, Kelly has also kept in good cheer this holiday season with a pair of festive songs. She teamed up with country singer Brett Eldredge for their new song “Under The Mistletoe”; its music video just came out yesterday. Kelly also covered the seasonal country classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Are you excited to hear Kelly’s new song “Rock Hudson”? How do you think it will sound? Let us know your thoughts below!
Keep checking back here for more information on Kelly’s upcoming 8th studio album — expected out in 2021 — and all the latest Kelly Clarkson music news.
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