In 2009, Kelly Clarkson co-wrote a song titled “Already Gone” for her third studio album All I Ever Wanted. She and co-writer Ryan Tedder wrote it about a woman who is telling her partner that although he has done nothing wrong, the relationship is over and they were just never meant to be.
Over ten years later, Kelly’s critically-acclaimed song would come back to her full-circle. While on The Voice, she was working with one of her artists, Corey Ward, who was planning on singing “Already Gone” for his Knockout Round performance.
After hearing him sing it at rehearsal, Kelly – and Mega Mentor Snoop Dogg – got emotional.
“When I wrote ‘Already Gone,’ I wrote something where I thought, ‘OK, it doesn’t have to work out.’ And hearing [Corey] sing that to me in my life now — are you, like, smacking me in my face with my message? It’s interesting when you write something and don’t feel something ’til years later,” she said while wiping tears away.
As most fans know, Kelly has been going through a messy divorce from her husband, Brandon Blackstock, which has involved his father suing her and her countersuing him.
Snoop Dogg revealed that he hardly gets emotional, especially from a man singing, but he had the chills from Corey’s rendition.
“When you can get the songwriter to lose emotional control, that’s when you’re doing your job, brother,” he said.
Kelly complimented her artist once more saying that she loved what he did with the song, calling it “the coolest thing a songwriter can experience.”
Watch her get emotional here. Kelly’s fellow Voice coaches also praised Corey’s rendition, making it no surprise to fans that Kelly chose him as the winner of his knockout.
Watch Corey’s performance of “Already Gone” below.