Kelly Clarkson‘s ex-husband and former manager, Brandon Blackstock, has died at the age of 48.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” a representative for the family told People. “Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
Clarkson recently postponed the rest of her Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, noting Blackstock had been ill for the past year and that she needed to be present for their two children, daughter River Rose and son Remington Alexander.
“While I normally keep my personal life private, this past year, my children’s father has been ill and at this moment, I need to be fully present for them,” she had written in a statement issued less than 24 hours before Blackstock’s death was revealed. “I am sincerely sorry to everyone who bought tickets to the shows, and I so appreciate your grace, kindness, and understanding.”
Clarkson had been candid about the state of her relationship with Blackstock over the years, from its early, romantic stages in the early 2010s to her filing for divorce in 2020, which was finalized two years later. That was not the end of the business disputes between the two, as fees he had earned representing her at Starstruck Management continued to be a bone of contention in court fights that continued through a settlement in 2024.
In 2023, Clarkson released a concept album, “Chemistry,” that lyrically dealt with the entire timeline of her relationship with Blackstock, from the infatuated beginnings to the seemingly bitter end. “All of it was written two, three years ago,” she said in a 2023 interview with Variety. Even though she wrote the album right in the aftermath of the split, Clarkson said, “It was very important for me to not just have a divorce album. I wanted an entire relationship to be covered. You listen to ‘Magic’ and it’s like, ‘Man, I’m willing to do this for you. Like, we all have our own damage. I have mine too; I’ll share mine, you share yours; we can do this.’ It’s every stage of a relationship, and that was very important to me, rather than just having a breakup album.”
In November 2023, a California labor commissioner ordered Blackstock to pay back Clarkson back $2.6 million he had earned while representing her at Starstruck Management. The ruling said that Blackstock improperly made deals for Clarkson that should have been handled by her Creative Artists Agency team. “Under the Talent Agencies Act (TAA), a manager, like any person without a talent agency license, cannot procure or attempt to procure employment for artists,” the ruling said. At issue were contracts he negotiated for her with “The Voice,” Norwegian Cruise Line, Wayfair and the Billboard Music Awards; he was ordered to pay his ex-wife back the commissions he made on those deals. (Her contract with “The Kelly Clarkson Show” was not included in the ruling.)
Blackstock was the son of Narvel Blackstock, who founded Starstruck Entertainment in 1988, and the stepson of country superstar Reba McEntire, who announced their marital and professional split in 2015 after 35 years of working together.
Brandon Blackstock and Clarkson met in 2006 at a rehearsal for the Academy of Country Music Awards, but they did not begin dating until February 2012. At that time, Clarkson was being managed by Narvel Blackstock, while Brandon was managing Blake Shelton. In December 2012, they became engaged, and marriage followed on Oct. 20, 2013. River Rose was born in June 2014, and Remington Alexander followed as their second child in April 2016.
He was involved with the negotiation of her contract for “The Voice” when Clarkson joined the show in 2018.
Clarkson filed for divorce on June 4, 2020 after seven years of marriage. In November of that year, she was granted primary custody of their two children, with court documents establishing an “increased” “level of conflict between the parents.” Eventually a judge ruled that Blackstock would receive nearly $200,000 in monthly spousal and child support, after he had asked for $436,000.
Remaining lawsuits between the former spouses over millions in commissions were settled in the spring of 2024, with a planned fall trial canceled and no terms of the agreement being publicly revealed.
Besides the two children he had with Clarkson, Brandon Blackstock is also survived by a son, Seth, and daughter, Savannah, from a marriage to Melissa Ashworth. He and his first wife divorced in 2012.
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