Kelly Clarkson on Writing About Divorce
b'Twenty years after her breakout on \\u201cAmerican Idol,\\u201d Kelly Clarkson released an album called \\u201cChemistry\\u201d that deals with the long arc of a relationship and her recent divorce. She sat down to talk with Hanif Abdurraqib, a music writer passionate about the craft of songwriting. \\u201cThis literally was written in real time,\\u201d Clarkson reflects. \\u201cThat was me being indecisive. Man, I have kids. Do I want to do this? Can I try again?\\u201d But writing about divorce as one of the best-known celebrities in America is very different from a young artist\\u2019s heartbreak anthem. \\u201cIt\\u2019s easy to hide in metaphors when it\\u2019s not the biggest thing that\\u2019s ever happened,\\u201d she says. \\u201cEveryone\\u2019s going to know. Unfortunately my life is very public, especially in the rough times.\\u201d\\xa0\\nPlus, Robert Samuels, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer on politics and race, shares his secret indulgence: watching classic figure-skating routines on YouTube.'