{"id":13960,"date":"2025-11-19T02:11:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T02:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=13960"},"modified":"2025-11-19T02:11:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T02:11:20","slug":"meet-brandi-carlile-my-soul-sister-kelly-clarkson-reveals-intimate-2-hour-chat-changed-her-view-on-post-divorce-musical-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=13960","title":{"rendered":"“Meet Brandi Carlile, my soul sister”: Kelly Clarkson reveals intimate 2-hour chat changed her view on post-divorce musical freedom."},"content":{"rendered":"

NASHVILLE, TN<\/b> \u2014 In a powerful convergence of emotional storytelling and artistic mentorship, pop megastar Kelly Clarkson<\/b> recently revealed that a two-hour private chat with Americana pioneer Brandi Carlile<\/b> fundamentally changed her view on musical freedom following her divorce.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carlile, the eleven-time Grammy-winning artist and producer, served as Clarkson\u2019s “soul sister” during the filming of the music video for Clarkson\u2019s post-divorce track “Me” (from the 2023 album Chemistry<\/i>), offering wisdom drawn from her own fiercely independent and boundary-breaking career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carlile’s professional freedom, Clarkson learned, is the product of an incredible personal journey: a transformation from a “misfit” facing prejudice in Seattle to an unwavering feminist icon who found salvation in music.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Evolution of a Rebel: Finding Salvation<\/span><\/h3>\n

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Born in 1981 and raised near Seattle, Brandi Carlile\u2019s early life, chronicled in her memoir <\/span>Broken Horses<\/span><\/i>, was defined by an early stand against prejudice.1<\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Standing Tall:<\/b> Carlile courageously came out as a lesbian in her teenage years. In a pivotal moment, her small-town pastor publicly refused to baptize her on the day of the ceremony due to her sexual orientation. This act of exclusion, however, was unexpectedly countered by an outpouring of community support, which cemented Carlile\u2019s decision to find her true sense of belonging and salvation in music.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Americana\u2019s Embrace:<\/b> Carlile has often described the Americana music scene as the “island of the misfit toys,” a community that fully embraced the “gay kid from Seattle.”2<\/sup><\/span> Her talent blossomed early; she was writing songs and performing live by age 16. Her 2007 breakthrough album, The Story<\/i>, was critically acclaimed, selling over 500,000 copies in the U.S. and confirming her long-gestating talent.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Grammy Dominance: The Powerhouse Producer<\/span><\/h3>\n

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    Following sustained success throughout the 2010s, Carlile entered a new phase as a major industry force, both as an artist and a producer. She has amassed an astonishing <\/span>eleven Grammy Awards<\/span><\/b> across folk, Americana, and rock genres.3<\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Her influence extends far beyond her own music through her pivotal production work:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Role\/Group<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nProject\/Song<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nYear<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nGrammy Award Wins<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Producer<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nWhile I’m Livin’<\/i> (Tanya Tucker)<\/span><\/td>\n2019<\/span><\/td>\nWon Best Country Album and Best Country Song (“Bring My Flowers Now”).<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Producer<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nJoni Mitchell At Newport<\/i> (Joni Mitchell)<\/span><\/td>\n2024<\/span><\/td>\nWon Best Folk Album.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    The Highwomen (Co-Founder)<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n“Crowded Table” (Song)<\/span><\/td>\n2021<\/span><\/td>\nWon Best Country Song.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    As co-founder of the all-female supergroup <\/span>The Highwomen<\/span><\/b> (with Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby) in 2019, Carlile championed the fight for gender equality in country music, an effort that earned them a Grammy for the track “Crowded Table.”4<\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    Motherhood and New Music in 2025<\/span><\/h3>\n

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    Carlile, who married her wife, Catherine Shepherd, in 2012, is a mother to two young daughters.5<\/sup><\/span> This role has intensified her activism through the <\/span>Looking Out Foundation<\/span><\/b>, which provides financial support to various causes, including LGBTQ+ rights and environmental justice.6<\/sup><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    In a move reflecting her constant quest for identity, Carlile recently launched her latest solo effort.7<\/sup><\/span> Her eighth studio album, <\/span>Returning to Myself<\/span><\/i><\/b>, was released on <\/span>October 24, 2025<\/span><\/b>.8<\/sup><\/span> The album, which blends her signature Americana, folk, and rock sounds, sees Carlile intentionally shift away from her high-profile collaborations to look inward and reconnect with her artistic roots.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    Brandi Carlile\u2019s journey is a profound testament to the power of inner strength, proving that an authentic voice\u2014even one that started as a “rebel” misfit\u2014can eventually become an unstoppable, award-winning icon and a definitive voice of artistic freedom for others like Kelly Clarkson.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    NASHVILLE, TN \u2014 In a powerful convergence of emotional storytelling and artistic mentorship, pop megastar Kelly Clarkson recently revealed that a two-hour private chat with Americana pioneer Brandi Carlile fundamentally changed her view on musical freedom following her divorce. Carlile, the eleven-time Grammy-winning artist and producer, served as Clarkson\u2019s “soul sister” during the filming of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13960\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}