On the Love Someone With Delilah podcast episode released on Tuesday, December 14, Kelly Clarkson opened up about red flags and regrets—all amid her well-documented divorce from Brandon Blackstock, which was finalized in August. (Clarkson filed for divorce in June 2020.) 

“I regret nothing,” Clarkson said, per People, not naming names or mentioning Blackstock directly. “Even unfortunate things that happen in your life or hard things, ’cause we can do hard things. But also I feel like that’s what shapes you, it’s what makes you a better person, it’s what makes you recognize: Okay, I missed those red flags, I missed that, I ignored that on purpose.” 

Then, Clarkson joked that she almost called her next album “Red Flag Collector.”  “I mean… I’m just collecting them,” she said. “I was apparently wanting to do some kind of exhibit with a lot of them.” 

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock began dating in 2012 and got married in 2013. Together they have two children: a daughter, River Rose and a son, Remy. Clarkson noted on Love Someone With Delilah that music has helped her get through some heavy emotions. “I will say, it’s very therapeutic—going through a divorce, or going through hard times in your life, I’m so happy I have writing and I’m so happy I have music, ’cause that’s my outlet, that’s how I get through it,” she said.

Clarkson applied her feelings toward songs she wrote for her new Christmas album, When Christmas Comes Around… (out now). “I’m supposed to make this Christmas record, and I love Christmas music, so I was like, I don’t know how to be happy, maybe I could be sarcastic,” Clarkson said about what inspired her snarky but empowering new single “Christmas Isn’t Cancelled (Just You).”

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Do Kelly Clarkson and Adele need to collab on a divorce album?

Ph.D. holder, teacher, and Valentine’s Day aficionado—not to mention first lady—Jill Biden has joined the ranks of the Bridgerton stans. (We are passionate, and we are legion!) And like the rest of us, she loves it for the um, the costumes. Yeah, the clothes. Which are kept on through the whole series. That’s the best part, when the clothes are on. Sure.

Appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Dr. Biden was challenged to say “without thinking” the first thing that came to mind from a list of words. The segment starts off with an easy one: vacation? Beach! Then, Clarkson goes in for the kill: “Bridgerton.” 

“Ummm…” Biden demurs, breaking the first rule of the “don’t think” game, but, whatever. “Costumes, romance,” she finally answers. And it’s not that those elements aren’t prevalent in the Regency Era-set series. It’s just that they’re not what everyone’s talking about. Remember, this is the series that made Ashton Kutcher think his wife, Mila Kunis, was watching porn in their bed. It’s steamy AF.

“We’re so different. My first word would have been different,” jokes Clarkson, echoing our very same thoughts. 

As Clarkson giggles, Biden makes it clear she knows the game, and she’s seen the full season. “Okay, I know what episode you’re talking about,” she says, prompting Clarkson to specify, “It might be episode five.” If you haven’t watched yet (how???), that’s the episode wherein central couple Simon and Daphne, to put it delicately, bone.

After a few more softball questions, Clarkson frustrates our FLOTUS once again with the prompt “Denzel.” “Oh my gosh…handsome,” says Biden. Yes, he is!

The two also had some more heartfelt moments, talking about healing from divorce. Later, Jill Biden introduced Kelly Clarkson to her family’s two dogs, Biden and Champ.

Come back on The Kelly Clarkson Show again, Dr Biden! This was so fun.

If you haven’t cried at least once to Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s song “Shallow,” then you don’t have a heart. I’m kidding, but the tune, which appears in their movie A Star Is Born and earned an Oscar for Best Original Song, is full of emotion, power, and soul. So much so that it’s spawned dozens and dozens of covers—a few by some very famous people. Granted, most of the renditions are from Gaga’s legion of Little Monsters, but a few A-listers have put their paws up for “Shallow.”

From Kelly Clarkson to Nick Jonas, let’s have a look at just a few of the celebrities who are off the deep end for this song.

Kelly Clarkson and Garth Brooks

They performed the iconic song in December 2020, when Brooks was a guest on Clarkson’s talk show. It was as beautiful as you’d expect. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcD9_hkZ7d8

Lizzo

The “Juice” singer swaps her traditionally upbeat style for this haunting rendition of “Shallow.” It will give you goose bumps.

Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson

Good luck not cracking up at this A-plus rendition.

Tori Kelly and Ally Brooke

This is the first female-female cover of “Shallow” that I’ve seen, and it’s gorgeous.

Kate Hudson

The best way to survive a workout? Belting “Shallow” the entire time, apparently. Seriously, though, Kate Hudson can sing—which, if you’ve seen Nine, you already knew.

Nick Jonas

Jonas posted his cover of “Shallow” to Instagram on Friday, February 22, 2019 (uploaded by Priyanka Chopra, of course). It’s soft and subtle, relying only on Jonas’s muted guitar strums and his even more muted vocals. Have a listen for yourself.

Rachel Zegler

The 17-year-old newcomer was one of 30,000 people to audition for Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story. She ultimately landed the role of Maria, which is when the internet discovered her stunning cover of “Shallow.” Watch 30 seconds of it, and you’ll see why Spielberg jumped at the chance to cast her.

Sam Tsui

Tsui is known for his YouTube covers, but his take on “Shallow” truly raises the bar. He tackles both the Gaga and Cooper parts here with style and aplomb, and his sugary vocals give the song a poppier vibe than what’s done in A Star Is Born.

The only thing more beautiful than Clarkson’s cover of “Shallow” is how she talked about Gaga before performing it. “I love artists. I know there’s a lot of competition always with artists in the industry, but there’s a lot of us that just dig each other and really get inspired by each other and what they’re doing,” she said. “And this chick is amazing. We’re really different, but at the same time, we’re really similar in the fact that she just loves music, and that’s why she’s doing what she’s doing.”

Alicia Keys and James Corden

Okay, so this is technically a parody, but it still counts. Corden and Keys riffed off “Shallow” as a way to tee up her 2019 Grammys-hosting gig, and the result is pure hilarity. And incredible vocals, of course. I mean, this is Alicia Keys.

Lady Gaga at the Grammys

Why, yes, it is possible to do a cover of your own song. Gaga’s arrangement of “Shallow” at the 2019 Grammys is completely different from how she sang it in A Star Is Born. In lieu of a stripped-down look and vocals, Gaga went full-on glam-pop, incorporating many of the elements that made her a pop phenomenon back in 2008.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper at Enigma

We couldn’t do this list without including the first time Gaga and Cooper reprised “Shallow” outside of the movie. It happened in late January 2019 during Gaga’s Vegas residency, Enigma. “Shallow” is always the encore, but fans (and let’s face it, the world) received a special treat that particular evening. If anything, this performance gave us so many great memes.

Gaga and Bradley Cooper at the 2019 Oscars

The song’s banner awards season ended on the most beautiful note. There are no words to describe this performance. Just watch.

Kelly Clarkson has been open about the tough year she’s had. There’s the pandemic, course, but the singer-talk show host-coach on The Voice also split from her husband and the father of her two children, Brandon Blackstock, in June. 

“You can ask anyone that’s gone through divorce, I don’t think anyone expects it. You know, you see yourself growing old with someone and then life has a different path,” she told Hoda Kotb on Today in September. “And it’s so hard on everyone. You know me, I’m really open so it just…I try to be open and share because we all go through things and can help each other not feel alone.”

It should be no surprise that Clarkson has turned to music to help her through her toughest days. Garth Brooks appeared on her show in December, and she let him know how important his song called “The Dance” has been to her. 

“I’m going through a divorce, and there’s been, like, a lot of books, and people always give you stuff to help, especially when you have kids and stuff. And I know that you’ve been divorced as well,” she said. “And it was like, man, there’s so much shame and guilt…and I don’t know, I’m just kind of working through it, and I couldn’t quite nail down the feeling.”

“You don’t want to, like, crap on it and 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,” she continued. “Anyway, I kid you not, I was listening to my playlist and ‘The Dance’ came on and I was like, that’s the thing. That’s it…I got the point.”

With lyrics like this, it’s easy to see why it resonated with Kelly Clarkson and her current situation: “It’s my life / It’s better left to chance / I could have missed the pain / But I’da had to miss / The dance.”

Clarkson said the song even inspired her to write a “therapeutic” tune of her own that will be on her next album, which will definitely make us cry.