It’s been five months since the tragic passing of Brandon Blackstock, and with that, his stepmother, Reba McEntire, is providing an update on how Kelly Clarkson and her two children, River Rose (11) and Remington “Remy” Alexander (9) are doing.
Specifically, McEntire spoke with Entertainment Tonight ahead of her In Memoriam tribute at the 2026 Grammy Awards on Feb. 1.
“It’s really special because it’s in memoriam and so, I’ve got a lot of friends up on that big screen and my son — Brandon Blackstock,” she said of her performance. “We let him go to heaven in August and so we’re going to be celebrating him tonight also.”
“Everybody’s hanging in there,” McEntire added about Clarkson and the children. “We miss Brandon so much. He was so much life, joy, love. He was a prankster and a character, and we all have a big text chain that we stay together and talk about him and remember him and they’re all excited about tonight also.”
Brandon Blackstock Passed Away After A Battle With Cancer
Blackstock’s passing came after a three-year battle with cancer in which he was privately fighting melanoma, TMZ reported at the time. Page Six further added that Blackstock was in hospice shortly before his death as well.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” a statement released by the family said (via PEOPLE). “Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
Along with his two children from his marriage to Clarkson, Blackstock also had two children, Savannah and Seth, from a previous marriage.
Kelly Clarkson Gave Emotional Performance Just Days Before Brandon Blackstock’s Passing
GettyDuring her July 26 show of her Las Vegas residency, a video posted on TikTok, showed Clarkson getting very emotional while performing. She had to wipe her eyes as she introduced her song, “Piece by Piece.”
“This next song, I’ve never rewritten a song more,” she said to the audience. “And I probably never will. I wrote this song with a lot of hope, OK? And projection for happiness and better than what was happening. And then, well, life set in and I had to change the lyrics.”
Clarkson explained her emotional reason for changing the lyrics, but at one point, she was too overcome with emotions and had to take a step away from the microphone.
“I’m really trying to pull it together,” she told the crowd, with the fans in return chanting her name to provide support.
It just goes to show everyone cancer discriminates against no one.. Even people with money… Don’t think rich people have it easy. 🙏
I only heard Kelly say bad stuff about her ex-husband. To keep saying you’re praying for her is weird. Pray for her children. Kelly has plenty of cash to support them and will move on. RIP Brandon.