Kelly Clarkson returned to television on Monday with the season 7 premiere of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
This marked her first appearance since the death of her ex-husband and father of their two kids, Brandon Blackstock—whom she divorced in 2020 after seven years of marriage.
The American Idol alum, 43 opened the season by interviewing A Big Bold Beautiful Journey stars Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie.
She also honoured school bus drivers from Kerrville who saved more than 900 children during the July floods.
Though Clarkson did not directly address her ex-husband’s passing on the episode, her show’s musical director Jason Halbert described the return as emotional.
Speaking to USA Today, he praised Clarkson’s ability to move from emotional topics, like the Texas floods, to lighter segments and musical performances.
Halbert also hinted that some of this season’s Kellyoke songs may reflect what Clarkson has been through the past year.
“A lot happened for us all in the last year, on personal and career levels,” he said. “You’re going to see some songs reflect things that maybe she wouldn’t talk about verbally in a sitting-on-the-couch interview.”
Blackstock, a talent manager, died on August 7 at age 48 from complications of melanoma.