Kelly Clarkson Returns to Talk Show After Ex-Husband’s Death

Kelly Clarkson is back at work.

On Monday, Sept. 29, the American Idol winner, 43, kicked off season 7 of The Kelly Clarkson Show.

In addition to interviewing A Big Bold Beautiful Journey costars Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie, Clarkson also welcomed heroes from the July floods in her home state of Texas, highlighting Kerrville, Texas, school bus drivers who rescued more than 900 children during the devastating natural disaster.

The season 7 premiere marked Clarkson’s first appearance on the show since her ex-husband, the talent manager Brandon Blackstock, died on Aug. 7 from complications of melanoma; he was 48.

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“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,” a rep for the Blackstock family told PEOPLE in a statement at the time. “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.”

The night before Blackstock’s death, Clarkson announced that she was postponing the remaining August shows of her Las Vegas residency to focus on her and Blackstock’s children, River, 11, and Remington, 9. (Blackstock was also dad to daughter Savannah, 23, and son Seth, 18, from his first marriage.)

“Unfortunately, I need to postpone the remainder of the August Studio Session dates in Las Vegas,”  Clarkson — who filed for divorce from Blackstock in 2020 after seven years of marriage — wrote on Aug. 6 on Instagram. “While I normally keep my personal life private, this past year, my children’s father has been ill and at this moment, I need to be fully present for them. I am sincerely sorry to everyone who bought tickets to the shows and I so appreciate your grace, kindness and understanding.”

While Clarkson didn’t reference Blackstock’s death on the Sept. 29 episode of her show, The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s musical director, Jason Halbert, told USA Today that the premiere was “emotional for all of us,” alluding to the Texas floods segment.

“I don’t know how [Clarkson] compartmentalizes watching that segment, super emotional, and then jumping into, like, making crafts with kids, and then jumping into emoting a song,” Halbert told the outlet.

The show’s musical director also teased what’s in store for “Kellyoke” during season 7.

“A lot happened for us all in the last year, on personal and career levels,” Halbert added in the USA Today interview. “You’re going to see some songs reflect things that maybe she wouldn’t talk about verbally in a sitting-on-the-couch interview.”