Kelly Clarkson Kicks off Sold-Out Las Vegas Residency Shows

Kelly Clarkson kicked off her Las Vegas residency, chemistry…an intimate night with Kelly Clarkson, on Friday (July 28) and Saturday (July 29), at the Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The residency will run through August 19.

Throughout her sets, Clarkson is pulling songs from her 20-year catalog, including hits “Miss Independent,” “Stronger,” “Since You Been Gone,” “Breakaway,” and “Heartbeat Song,” among others. She is also performing songs from her most recently released 10th album, chemistry, including lead singles “mine” and “me,” which was co-written with GAYLE.

Dubbed her “divorce” album, the 14-track album, also the namesake of her residency, chronicles Clarkson’s recent divorce from Brandon Blackstock, which was finalized in 2022. Produced by her longtime collaborators Jason Halbert, who has worked with Clarkson since her third album My December, along with Jesse Shatkin, and Erick Serna, chemistry is the followup release to her 2017 album, Meaning of Life, and 2021 holiday release When Christmas Comes Around.

The Vegas shows have also seen Clarkson incorporating a number of covers, including Paloma Faith’s “Only Love Can Hurt Like This,” Harry Styles‘ “As It Was,” the 1945 song “Stuff Like That There,” originally recorded by Betty Hutton, Lainey Wilson‘s hit “Heart Like a Truck,” and GAYLE’s “abcdefu,” among others.

During Clarkson’s Saturday (Aug. 5) show, she also switched the lyrics to her 2015 hit “Piece by Piece.” The emotional ballad, which originally reflected her parents’ divorce and her frayed relationship with her father, was amended by Clarkson to reflect her recent divorce.

[RELATED: American Songwriter July/August Cover Story: Kelly Clarkson—Pieced Together ]

Her new lyrics read around the love for oneself with the “he” pronouns from the original version switched to “I.” In the chorus, Clarkson also 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.

Clarkson’s residency will continue through Aug. 11, 12, 18, and 19. In September, she will return for the fourth season of The Kelly Clarkson Show, which has relocated from Los Angeles to New York City.

Photo: Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment