Kelly Clarkson has a new man in her life - at least when it comes to her music! The American Idol alum just dropped her latest single 'I Hate Love' and it features someone you won't be expecting.
Kelly has teamed up with none other than Steve Martin, 77, who plays the banjos on the latest hit from her upcoming album Chemistry.
She fell in love with Steve's skills during the COVID-19 pandemic when she stumbled upon his banjo-playing skills in livestream videos.
Talking to Billboard about her decision to reach out to the Father of the Bride actor, she said: "I was like, ‘I know that sounds crazy,' [My producer] Jesse Shatkin was like, ‘I think it sounds rad.'"Kelly continued: "I generally don’t ask because I get very nervous about bothering people. But literally, within hours, [my producer Jesse Shatkin] got an answer: ‘Oh my God, he’d love to, when are you recording it?’ "
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She also references Steve in 'I Hate Love' as she mentions two movies featuring the Only Murders in the Building star and Ryan Gosling. "I just love the idea of things happening organically," The Kelly Clarkson Show host continued.
Surprisingly though, Kelly is yet to meet Steve in person. "My ideal moment is him coming on my show and then us performing it — but I’ll take just him coming on my show so we can talk and hang out so I can, like, meet him."
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The album sees Kelly expressing her emotions over love. The mom-of-two also took to Instagram to announce the new song and wrote: "i hate love is out now! The amazing banjo skills you hear are brought to you by the incredibly gifted @stevemartinreally. I’d pick Martin over Gosling any day. Sorry, not sorry. link in bio #chemistry #ihatelove."
Fans commented on the single and wrote: "it’s soooo good! on repeat rn," and, "I already love it, I’m still trying to get over the fact that THE Steve Martin is on a Kelly Clarkson song," while a third added: "This album is already turning into one of my favorites & we’ve only heard 4 songs."
Kelly is gearing up for a big move across the country as her show is relocating from LA to NY. The decision will impact both her professional life and her family life with kids River Rose, eight, and Remington "Remy" Alexander, seven.
Though at the time of the announcement Kelly kept largely mum on the subject, she recently opened up to TalkShopLive about the decision process of taking both her work and her kids, who she shares with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, across the country to the East Coast.
It wasn't an easy decision to make, and she admitted: "I haven't actually been able to talk about this a lot. I talked to my crew back in January through tears because I have built such an amazing group of people." She added: "Obviously, we've been very successful and I love everybody I work with and we have such great relationships."
Despite it being a difficult decision, she had little choice, and further explained: "I was like, 'Guys I need you to know what’s happening. It's either I'm not going to be able to continue with the show or I got to go the East Coast.'"
Kelly revealed that the decision was made in an effort to be closer to her family, as she said: "My family is East Coast. They're North Carolina-based. It was one of those things where I just had to."
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