Kelly Clarkson Changes “Piece by Piece” into a declaration of self-empowerment
When Kelly Clarkson released the deeply personal song “Piece by Piece” in 2015, she had been married to Brandon Blackstock for only two years, and things were still good. The song served as an anthem to him and how he helped heal her broken heart after her father abandoned her years ago.
Kelly Clarkson Delivers Emotional “Piece by Piece” on American Idol
That was then, this is now. After a messy split from Blackstock, where it turns out he wasn’t the rock and support she thought he was, some fans assumed she’d never sing “Piece by Piece” again. But the American Idol OG winner debuted the song over the weekend during her Chemistry Las Vegas residency. How to sing the song? Simply remove the he/him references and replace them with I/me. The result turns the song into a powerful declaration of self empowerment.
“This song I initially wrote just super hopeful, right? And well, sometimes hopeful turns into hopeless, so here we go, ‘Piece by Piece,’” Kelly told her Las Vegas audience on Saturday, August 5.
“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,” Kelly sang on the original song.
Kelly updates “Piece by Piece” to reflect her post-divorce life
During Saturday’s show, she changed the mentions of “he” to “I,” singing, “I collected me up” and “I filled the holes,”
Then, she changed “He never walks away / He never asks for money / He takes care of me / He loves me,” to, “I just walk away / when they ask for money / I take care of me / ’cause I love me.”
The last lines of the song used to go “Piece by piece, he restored my faith / That a man can be kind and a father could stay,” Now she sings. “Piece by piece, I restored my faith / That a heart can still beat, even when it breaks.”
Kelly heals herself. Watch the new version of Piece by Piece below.
