Kelly Clarkson Says Her Kids 'Were Looking at Me Like I Was Thor' When They Sang with Her on Stage

"I was a superhero to them," the songstress shared between performances on the 'Today' show Friday

Kelly Clarkson got the closest she might ever get to being a Marvel superhero.

Last month, the singer and talk show host made her short-lived Las Vegas residency a family affair when she brought her son Remington "Remy" Alexander, 7, and daughter River Rose, 9, onstage to sing (and dance) with her in back-to-back shows. And it turns out, the experience gave her kids a whole new appreciation for their mom.

"Y’all will get this: it was the most magical thing to be on stage [with them] — I didn’t know it was going to happen," Clarkson, 41, said on the Today show Friday. "But how my kids were looking at me? They had so much fun on stage, first of all. But then how they were looking at me was like I was Thor! I literally was like, ‘Oh my God, they’re literally never going to look at me like this again.’ "

"I felt like I was a superhero to them," she added. "It was the most magical feeling as a parent that they look at you in that way. That awe? It was really cool."

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Clarkson shares Remy and River with ex Brandon Blackstock, whom she divorced in 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage. She channeled the emotions surrounding the end of that relationship into her 10th studio album Chemistry, songs from which she performed on Today Friday morning as part of the NBC morning show's Citi Concert Series.

One of those included "Lighthouse," which Clarkson told Today's Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin is one of her absolute favorites on the record.

"If you've ever been in a relationship that you know is not going well but you keep trying because you know there is magic there, there is the reason why you started in the relationship in the first place, it's hard," Clarkson explained. "I kept trying to figure out what I was going to do and literally this song is me figuring out, 'We're both getting drowned out here,' you know? Like, 'You have to swim to shore. We're not finding each other.' So the whole song is about me basically figuring out what needed to happen for me and our family."

"So that's heavy!" she joked. "Good morning! Just a family song!"

Related: Kelly Clarkson Brings Her Kids Onstage to Sing and Dance with Her During Las Vegas Residency: Watch

Clarkson's Las Vegas residency, which took place at Planet Hollywood, was also set up to help the American Idol winner celebrate her album — a deluxe version of which dropped on Friday.

Before her kids took the stage in Vegas, the talk show host shared a sweet pic of her kids smiling in an embrace on Instagram. "Both of my kiddos backstage getting ready to join me on stage in Vegas ❤️," she wrote. "Nothing will ever be as cool and amazing as these two little humans that will always have my whole heart."

The two joined Clarkson for her Aug. 18 and Aug. 19 shows. In the first, her son (whom she nicknamed "Remy B") danced while she sang her hit, "Whole Lotta Woman" — a song he suggested. "My son is 7 years old. He picked the coolest song for a dude to pick," Clarkson told audiences in a fan-recorded TikTok video. "I was like, ‘He was destined for greatness just for loving this song alone.'"

River Rose, meanwhile, took the stage to sing "Heartbeat Song" with her mom both nights. Remy joined them on that tune the second night.

Fans who get the new deluxe version of Chemistry will get to hear Remy's voice, on the duet "You Don't Make Me Cry."

It's a song she recorded when she was just 5 years old, Clarkson said on the 3rd Hour of Today.

"She's 9 now, but she's 5 years old on this track. That's how old that song is," Clarkson explained. "I recorded it that long ago and we just loved it and it fit in on the record. And she came into the studio and said, 'Can I sing?' So my producer just took my vocal off completely and just let her sing on the track. And she's just on the whole track, singing. It's so cute."

"She called it her song, by the way. 'Can you play my song?' Even my son's like, 'Can you play River's song?' It's like, 'Okay, okay, slow down...' " Clarkson joked to Melvin, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer. "She's so excited."

Related: Kelly Clarkson Says It's 'Really Cool' Her Kids Can Express Their Emotions: 'They're So Advanced'

Asked if she'd ever want her kids to go into show business, Clarkson said no.

"I mean, I'm not going to not push. I'm the kind of parent that's like, 'Whatever you want to do.' I mean, it's hard for me to sit here and go, 'Don't do this' in this industry cause I'm in it. [And] I do think, kids that grow up in it, it's hard for them not to be inspired by it or want to be a part of it, so I kind of understand it if they do. But also, be a teacher! Be a doctor! Anything else!"

Today airs weekdays on NBC beginning at 7 a.m. ET.

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