Kelly Clarkson has released a stripped-down version of her latest single, “mine.” Taking to the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles, Clarkson offers an intimate performance of the heartbreaking song that’s elevated by her a cappella vocals.
Videos by American Songwriter
Supported by a simple piano and a pair of background singers that sound like a choir of angels, Clarkson delivers a stunning performance as she sings, Why am I missin’ you tonight/Was it all a lie/Someone’s gonna show you how a heart can be used/Like you did mine. The superstar ends the performance a capella as she sings the final chorus, bringing the song to a stellar close.
“Mine” was released as the lead single off her new album, chemistry, accompanied by the double-A-side single, “me.” Co-written by Clarkson, Jesse Shatkin and Eric Serna, “mine” reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart and No. 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The album debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
[RELATED: American Songwriter July/August Cover Story: Kelly Clarkson – Pieced Together]
“When it comes to what was going on, I wrote so many songs that I honestly don’t know the very first one,” Clarkson told American Songwriter in the July/August 2023 cover story about her approach to chemistry. “I had no idea what kind of record this was going to be. I had no idea where it was gonna go. I just needed to write.”
Describing “mine” as a “stream of consciousness,” Clarkson says that the songs on the project capture her emotion about the end of her marriage to ex-husband Brandon Blackstock with whom she shares two children. “[I was] calling my label going, ‘Hey, I don’t know what the overall sound will be because a lot of different sounds are coming out,’” she continues. “It was almost like each emotion was coming out differently—‘me’ is soulful and ‘high road’ is a different song, which had a completely different vibe. Anything I attached to was just where I was emotionally at that place and that time.”
Photo Credit: Brian Bowen Smith / Atlantic Records
