Kelly Clarkson has life all figured out 鈥� starting with the fact that she鈥檚 calling from her bedroom.
鈥淚鈥檓 living the dream, doing a phoner from my bed,鈥� she says as a friendly hello.
Spending just a few minutes in Clarkson鈥檚 world is an exercise in grace. She laughs easily, drops a few gentle f-bombs and is quick to empathize with the total stranger on the other side of the phone line.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a writer, and as artists, we all have a reason why we do what we do,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think any artist 鈥� whether you鈥檙e a writer, a singer, a painter, a sculptor, whatever it is 鈥� a lot of us are driven by those hurdles that were put in front of us, and why we love to do what we do.鈥�
On her new album Meaning of Life (released Friday), she clears these hurdles with ease. Her eighth studio release is a mile marker at the end of a whirlwind few years for the 35-year-old, in which she married her talent-manager husband Brandon Blackstock in 2013, became a stepmom to his two daughters and welcomed two new children of her own, daughter River Rose in 2014 and son Remington in 2016.
Not all moms can write an album of steamy love songs while raising two toddlers, but like most things, Clarkson made it sound easy.
鈥淚 was single for, like, ever,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut once I found someone I fell in love with 鈥� we鈥檝e been together four years (this week) 鈥� honestly, it still feels like the first week. We鈥檙e just still crazy about each other ... and we have a great team, I know we鈥檙e going to be great parents. We were really adamant 鈥� our kids go to bed at a certain time every night, and then it鈥檚 our time.鈥�
Meaning of Life lovingly chronicles Clarkson鈥檚 transformed personal life while also signalling a professional breakthrough for the star. The album is her first release on Atlantic after completing the terms of her post-American Idol RCA contract.
Clarkson has called her RCA contract an 鈥渁rranged marriage,鈥� and addresses those turbulent years on the album鈥檚 blistering closer I Don鈥檛 Think About You, which she dedicates to 鈥渟everal people that I鈥檝e worked with over the years that really just did not take time to get to know me at all.鈥�
Yet, that鈥檚 about all the wrath Clarkson exerts on the upbeat Meaning of Life, and she laughs off the idea of making a Lemonade-style album that flames her enemies. Because, in Clarkson鈥檚 eyes, why would she waste her hard-earned time on such negativity?
鈥淚 like how all these girls have feuds, and like, have novelty songs against each other,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檝e ever liked someone that much to dislike them that much.鈥�
Instead, Meaning of Life delivers tracks such as Whole Lotta Woman, an ode to Texas women that Clarkson declares is her 鈥渇avourite song in the world to sing live.鈥�
鈥淭he two girls I wrote it with, we鈥檙e all Southern, and we鈥檙e like, thicker Southern,鈥� she says, hinting at the unapologetic body positivity that鈥檚 won her many fans over the years. 鈥淧eople get afraid of thick girls like there鈥檚 a problem with it. Everybody鈥檚 鈥榟appy鈥� looks different. And everybody, at different stages of life, looks different.鈥�
After Meaning of Life 鈥� and her new children鈥檚 Christmas book River Rose and the Magical Christmas, which was released this week 鈥� Clarkson heads to The Voice next spring to sit in the judges鈥� chairs alongside longtime friends Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
Of course, appearing on The Voice marks a full circle for Clarkson, whose 2002 American Idol win seems lifetimes away. She鈥檚 never sounded so zen about her past on the show, thanking the many fans who have stayed with her from the beginning.
鈥淧eople all the time come up to me, and the first thing they always say is, 鈥極h my gosh, I feel like I won with you鈥�,鈥� she says. 鈥淟ike, it鈥檚 almost like their
journey as well.鈥�
