Kelly Clarkson delivered a festive start to NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix.
The singer, 43, performed her classic Christmas song “Underneath the Tree” to kick off the broadcast on Thursday, December 25, dressed in a beaded silver gown in a prerecorded segment before the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders game, backed up by the Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Clarkson stood atop an illustrated Christmas tree that had been superimposed onto the NFL field.
NFL Christmas Gameday featured two NFC division rivalries streaming globally on Netflix. The Dallas Cowboys — of whom Clarkson is a lifelong fan — and the Washington Commanders faced off first at 1 p.m. ET from Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, followed by the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings going toe to toe at 4:30 p.m. ET from the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Clarkson’s Christmas Day performance caps off a difficult year for her. In August, her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock — with whom she shared daughter River, 11, and son Remington, 9 — died at age 48 following a private cancer battle.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away. Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family,” a rep for the family said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time.”
Amid Blackstock’s illness, Clarkson took a step back from her career to support their children.
“Kelly’s work schedule has been difficult over the last few months as she needed to take care of her kids,” a source exclusively told Us in August. “She needed the time off as her kids come first. It’s terrible and sad.”
Keeping it real. Kelly Clarkson surprised some when she filed for divorce from Brandon Blackstock on June 4, 2020, after nearly seven years of marriage. At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the former couple “clashed on so many levels and being in quarantine together [amid the coronavirus pandemic] heightened their problems […]
The insider added that “only a few people in Kelly’s circle” were aware of “what was going on behind the scenes” with Blackstock when he was sick.
“Even though they went through an acrimonious divorce, Kelly made a conscious decision to protect Brandon’s privacy until the very end for the sake of their family,” a second source revealed at the time.
“He’d been sick for a while, but his health really took a turn for the worse earlier this year,” the second insider continued. “Out of respect, Kelly chose not to say anything publicly until it became clear this week that Brandon wasn’t going to make it.”
A third source told Us in August that Blackstock’s cancer battle and untimely death were “draining, exhausting, emotional [and] devastating” for Clarkson and his family.
Kelly Clarkson had been quietly dealing with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock’s illness for months — canceling a series of shows before his death in August 2025. “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,” […]
While “coparenting was not easy for Kelly because she was the one who had to transport the kids, so it was really her life that was always turned upside down,” Blackstock’s health “changed their perspectives” about their situation, according to a fourth insider.
“She is their [children’s] primary parent,” the source said. “But this was catastrophic for them, so immediately Kelly went into mom mode and focused on the kids and how they were coping.”
In Blackstock’s final months, Clarkson also made sure River and Remington “were with their dad and his family as much as possible.”
Three months after Blackstock’s death, Clarkson kicked off the holiday season with her kids in New York City, captioning a November Instagram photo of herself with River and Remington, “Ice skating at 30 Rock with the family ✅.”
