Kelly Clarkson's Performance Of Garth Brooks' 'The Dance' Shows Her Strength In Overcoming Difficult Divorce

Oct 28, 2022 by apost team

Hailed as one of music's best vocalists, Kelly Clarkson is no stranger to performing. She won the very first season of “American Idol” and has gone on to be one of the most successful winners and candidates of the reality singing competition. 

Since then, the singer went to sell millions of copies of her albums and toured across the world. Some of her most notable hits include "Since U Been Gone," "My Life Would Suck Without You," and "Because Of You." With an incredible vocal tone and range, Clarkson easily became one of the best and most recognizable singers in the world.

Along with being a highly accomplished singer, Clarkson has also appeared in a variety of films and TV shows and was considered one of the most beloved women in the entertainment industry due to her hilarious personality and charming wit. She has gone on to become a judge for another singing competition series called "The Voice" and is even the host of her own talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show."

With her killer voice and awesome stage presence, Clarkson could belt out the highest of notes and still remain unfazed afterward. However, in 2021, she was invited to honor one of the best-selling music artists in the world, Garth Brooks, through a song number at the Kennedy Center Honors. As usual, the performance was spectacular, filling everyone in the room with tears and emotions, including Brooks herself. 

Turns out, Clarkson, who is an experienced performer, still gets jitters and feels anxious from time to time. In an interview with Entertainment Today, Clarkson revealed that she was anxious and emotional before and during the actual performance. Read on to learn more about what the actual reason was. 

Born in Forth Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann and Stephen Michael on Apr. 4, 1982, Clarkson eventually became one of the biggest music superstars in the world. She sold over 28 million albums and 54 million singles worldwide, becoming one of the first artists in history to top each of the pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country, and dance charts. 

Because of this feat, Clarkson became a force to reckon with both in the pop and country genres. Doubled down with her raspy country-sounding voice and southern roots, Clarkson was the recipient of two Academy of Country Music Awards, two American Country Awards, and a Country Music Award just for Jason Aldean’s song “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” where she was credited as a featured artist. 

She has also grown closer with many country music singers like Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Kelsea Ballerini, Trisha Yearwood, and Blake Shelton, among many others. 

Clarkson was chosen to honor Brooks at the 43rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., last June 2021. She went on to perform one of Brooks’ signature songs, “The Dance.”

During Clarkson’s breathtaking performance at the ceremony, Brooks was moved to tears because of the heartfelt singing. He immediately bolted up from his seat after the song number, joining the chorus of applause that the crowd had given Clarkson. 

But it turns out Clarkson was as moved as Brooks was. She confessed in an interview in 2021 that the song “The Dance,” holds a very special meaning in her heart as it was the song where she found comfort during her messy divorce settlement with her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock. 

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Clarkson and Blackstock’s divorce was settled in March 2022, as People Magazine reported that Clarkson would pay Blackstock a one-time payment of $1.3 million, as well as monthly child support payments of $45,601 for their two children. The former couple also agreed on having joint custody of their kids, although they will be living with Clarkson in her Los Angeles home.

The thought of her performing “The Dance” in front of Brooks at the Kennedy Center Honors was a big thing for Clarkson, which led her to feel nervous before the performance. 

"I was texting Trisha Yearwood before the show and then I go on stage and I saw them and like all of a sudden I am the sweatiest human on planet earth. And I got a little nervous, and I don't get nervous singing. Yep, I didn't enjoy that!" she told Entertainment Today in June 2021. 

Apparently, “The Dance” meant so much more than just a classic country hit to Clarkson. She went on to reveal that it was the song that helped her get through her divorce with Blackstock. 

“I couldn’t quite nail down the feeling. I was, like, well, you don’t want to crap on it. Like, you don’t want to say that didn’t count or matter, but you don’t know what to put in it because it didn’t work out how you wanted, and so, anyway, I kid you not, I was listening to my playlist and ‘The Dance’ came on and I was like, ‘No, that’s the thing. That’s it.’” she explained to Brooks in an interview with him on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.” 

Elsewhere in the conversation, Clarkson also told the country singer that singing “The Dance” when she was still a child never “hit” her, not until during her divorce. 

Whose version do you prefer more – Garth Brooks' or Kelly Clarkson's? What do you think of Clarkson's reason why she was nervous? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to your friends, family, and fellow Kelly Clarkson fans!