'Hard thing to do': Kelly Clarkson opens up on 'vicious cycles and dysfunctional families' at show as she battles ex-husband in court

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY: Kelly Clarkson performed two sold-out gigs over the weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The 'Since U Been Gone' singer took the stage, flaunting her roughly 60-pound weight loss in a tight black jumpsuit, a few days before addressing Ozempic claims.

During the program, Clarkson opened up to her audience about her family's hardships, just days after a judge issued a new verdict in her legal battle with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock.

Kelly Clarkson addressed 'dysfunctional families' amid performance

Despite having a wardrobe malfunction and losing track of a line once, Clarkson introduced each song and its meaning during the two-hour performance on Friday, May 10.

She talked about how the music was influenced by her childhood family while introducing her famous song 'Breakaway'. "It's like, unfortunately, and fortunately how I get through things is writing," she began.

"So I wrote this song when I was young and I wrote it about the vicious cycle that dysfunctional families can kind of, you know, those patterns that we can kind of carry on from our parents and they carry it on from theirs," Clarkson continued.

"And it's all about trying to break that cycle, but it's a very hard thing to do it turns out," Clarkson said to the crowd in a video obtained by The US Sun.

In November 2004, she released her second album titled 'Breakaway', with the title track 'Breakaway' which was also featured on the soundtrack of 'The Princess Diaries 2'.

The singer is portrayed in the music video as a young girl from a small town who, despite conflicts in her family, pursues her passion and becomes a pop sensation.

The 'American Idol' alum continued, "But anyway, I had no idea that this song would relate to... It's actually unfortunate how relatable it is I guess to people, but I had to fight like hell to get it on my record."

"They didn't want it on the first record. They were like, 'This is a horrible song. It doesn't rhyme.' I fought for it really hard for the second album and it ended up being on there and then it ended up being number one worldwide," she added.

The  'Stronger' singer has spoken candidly in the past about the separation of her parents when she was six years old.

Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock embroiled in bitter court battle

It was reported two days before Clarkson's performance in Atlantic City that she had secured a significant decision in her legal dispute with her former partner regarding commissions he received while serving as her manager for Starstruck, his father's business.

According to Rolling Stone, the ex-couple will face off in court beginning on August 27 in Los Angeles.

The primary issue at trial will be whether Brandon broke California's Talent Agencies Act when he obtained arrangements for his ex-wife, including one where she served as a judge on 'The Voice', and reaped payments from her deals.

According to the source, the California Labor Commissioner initially decided the case in November 2023, primarily in favor of the singer and awarding her $2.6 million.

The decision was then appealed by Brandon in December 2023 where his attorneys asked for an extensive discovery procedure to prepare for the retrial.