Kelly Clarkson has updated the lyrics for her heartbreaking song “Piece by Piece” yet again.
The Grammy-winning singer debuted the song back in 2015 and it was written about her father’s neglect of their family while growing up, plus how her then-husband Brandon Blackstock will never abandon her or their kids.
After Kelly‘s divorce from Brandon, she updated the lyrics for her 2023 Las Vegas residency to make the song about her self-worth as a single mother.
Now, Kelly has changed the words yet again.
Keep reading to find out more…
The original lyrics in the chorus read, “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 / He never walks away, he never asks for money / He takes care of me, he loves me / Piece by piece, he restored my faith / That a man can be kind and a father could stay.”
Kelly changed the lyrics in 2023 to, “But piece by piece, I collected me / Up off the ground, where you abandoned things, yeah / Piece by piece, I filled the holes / That you burned in me at six years old / And you know / I just walk away when they ask for money / I take care of me, cause I love me / Piece by piece, I restored my faith / That a heart can still beat, even when it breaks.”
Kelly has updated the lyrics yet again for 2025.
In the second half of the chorus, Kelly now sings, “And you know / I’m learning every day how to love me / I let go of the shame that you taught me / Piece by piece, I restored my faith / That a heart can still beat, even when it breaks.”
Kelly opened up to the audience about why she has changed the lyrics.
“I wrote it [when] I was feeling a type of way, and hoping more than [anything],” she told fans at the opening night of her new residency. “And then, I changed it a couple summers ago. I had to sing it. I was like, ‘I gotta sing it ‘cause people kept asking for it.’ But, it just didn’t feel right. Then I was like, ‘I kinda like the way I’m going with it,’ so I changed it just a little bit more. It kind of became aware to me that, man, this is a lot to put on one person anyway. Like, therapy, hey! I ended up changing it. It’s more of an empowering thing oflike, ‘Cool, it didn’t happen for me, but that doesn’t mean you’re not worthy, that you’re not valuable.’”
Check out the full setlist for the new residency!