“I was crying so hard, even before separating.”

Her profound pain is present throughout the entire project, but it’s especially palpable in “Mine.”

“Mine” is a stunning introduction to Clarkson’s first pop album in six years.

Kelly Clarkson looking away

“The whole divorce thing happened and I needed to write it,” she toldVarietyin September 2022.

“And then I didn’t know if I was going to release it.”

““Thought with you maybe my heart wasn’t meant to break,” she sings.

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock

There’s another key reference in the lyrics, but it’s not to Clarkson’s own work.

Presumably, Clarkson would like to just forget about her failed romance with Blackstock altogether.

Kelly Clarkson singing on stage