The music world has been shattered by the sudden passing of Brandon Blackstock, 48 — beloved father to River Rose and Remington Alexander, and once the great love of Kelly Clarkson’s life. Yesterday, beneath the soft glow of candlelight in a small Nashville chapel, the people who loved him most came together to say their final goodbye. Family, friends, and country music’s brightest stars filled the pews, but the room felt achingly quiet, as if the air itself understood the weight of the loss. Then came the moment no one will ever forget. Kelly Clarkson, her hands trembling, walked to the front. Beside her stood Simon Cowell — the friend who had unknowingly set their love story in motion years ago. Without a word, they began to play “God Gave Me You,” the song that had once carried them down the aisle. Kelly’s voice broke on the very first line, her pain spilling into every syllable. Simon’s eyes glistened as he softly took the second verse, his voice a steady hand holding hers through the grief. When the chorus came, they sang together, their harmonies quivering like a fragile thread between past and present. In the front row, River and Remington sat side by side, their small fingers intertwined, tears streaming silently down their faces. Every note seemed to wrap around them like an embrace, a promise that their father’s love would never fade. “It wasn’t a performance,” whispered one mourner, their voice thick with emotion. “It was a farewell — raw, unguarded, and written on every face in that room.” As the final chord faded, the chapel was silent. Not a single person moved. In that stillness, Brandon’s presence was felt — not as a memory, but as a heartbeat, alive in the love that filled the room.