Kelly Clarkson has finalized her name change to Kelly Brianne just weeks after her divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
The 39-year-old chat show host was granted the new moniker by a judge in California on Monday, March 28.
UsWeekly obtained legal documents on Tuesday which state: ‘There being no objections, the petition for change of name is granted.
Free: Kelly Clarkson (seen in LA on Monday) has finalized her name change to Kelly Brianne just weeks after her divorce from Brandon Blackstock
‘The Decree is signed and filed. The Petitioner’s name is changed from KELLY BRIANNE CLARKSON to KELLY BRIANNE.’
Last month it emerged she had filed to legally change her name to Kelly Brianne, her first and middle names.
But then just days ago, she clarified that the name change is simply for her personal life, and quipped that it is ‘too late’ to change her public name now in an interview.
Talking to People (the TV Show!) she joked: ‘I don’t think I can change Clarkson at this point. I’m 20 years in!’
Facing it: Just last week the star acknowledged in a new interview that it is ‘too late’ to change her public name to Kelly Brianne
The news that she wanted to change her name came in the wake of her tumultuous divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
‘I just got divorced, so I had to drop my married last name,’ she told People (the TV Show!). ‘I just kept my middle name for my personal life. I’m still Kelly Clarkson.’
Kelly made the clarification this Monday at the red carpet premiere of American Song Contest, the reality competition show she co-hosts with Snoop Dogg for NBC.
She herself became a star after winning the first season of American Idol all the way back in 2002, when the show was on Fox.
‘I’m 20 years in!’: While talking to People (the TV Show!) she quipped: ‘I don’t think I can change Clarkson at this point’
She said in late February that she had a ‘desire’ to switch to Kelly Brianne as her ‘new name more fully reflects who’ she is, according to multiple reports.
It comes after the singer filed for divorce from her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in June 2020, citing ‘irreconcilable differences.’
However, she never legally took on her ex-spouse’s surname. ‘Clarkson’ is her own family name.
Born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, the singer is said to have had a tumultuous relationship with her late father, Stephen Michael Clarkson.
Back then: Last month it emerged she had filed to legally change her well-known moniker to Kelly Brianne, her first and middle names
Her father Stephen and mother Jeanne Ann (née Rose) divorced when Clarkson was six years old. The singer has said publicly that she never kept in touch with her dad.
Meanwhile, another hearing on the matter of her name change is slated for March 28, per court docs reviewed by US Weekly.
It is not yet clear how the legal name change will affect the star’s branded projects, including her hit eponymous talk series, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and numerous albums recorded under the name Kelly Clarkson.
It comes after the Fort Worth, Texas-born star has spent more than a year and half working through a divorce from ex Brandon, 45, with whom she shares daughter River Rose, seven, and son Remington Alexander, five.
Prior to the breakup, she was also stepmother of his two kids with ex-wife Melissa Ashworth, Savannah, 19, and Seth, 14.
Tough times: The singer said on her show this week that she felt ‘broken’ having to quarantine at home with her kids
The Kelly Clarkson Show host initially filed for divorce from Blackstock in June of 2020 saying there were ‘irreconcilable differences’ in the marriage, which began when the couple wed in October of 2013.
In court last month, the A Moment Like This songstress conceded 5.12 percent of the $17.8 million Montana ranch they lived on to Blackstock, which is worth around $908,800, according to the outlet.
The My Life Would Suck Without You artist was court-ordered to pay Blackstock $150,000 in monthly spousal support, with an extra $45,601 earmarked toward their children.
Brandon Blackstock was snapped in January of 2020 at an event in LA
The Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) performer, who shares joint physical and legal custody of her two kids with Blackstock, told Extra last fall that she and Blackstock had ‘a lot of help as far as therapists or child psychologists’ for their children because they want to do it right,’ adding, ‘Everyone’s sad and it’s OK to be sad.’
The Miss Independent vocalist spoke on her program last year about co-parenting with Blackstock
‘I know with me and Brandon, it’s just a difficult thing because we’re in different places,’ she said. ‘And it’s like, we both agree on the main things, but it’s a hard thing when you’re not together all the time, for me personally.
‘As long as you make sure it’s about the children and their best interests, then we’re both on board.’
In the past, Clarkson has made no secret that she did not have a good relationship with her late father Stephen Clarkson.
‘I’ve never really been in touch with him. And I know a lot of people go “aww”, but it’s not really that situation. Because you don’t grow up with it, it’s hard to miss something you never had.’
Another reason for the name change? In the past, Clarkson has made no secret that she did not have a good relationship with her late father Stephen Clarkson (Pictured above)