Kelly Clarkson's 9-Year-Old Daughter River Makes Memorable Cameo on New Song "You Don’t Make Me Cry"

Piece by piece, River Rose is following in mom Kelly Clarkson's footsteps.

The "Miss Independent" singer debuted the deluxe version of her album Chemistry Sept. 22, revealing collaborator close to her heart: her 9-year-old daughter who sings on the track "You Don't Make Me Cry."

River first appears in the beginning of the track, showcasing autotuned vocal runs before giving away to her mother to take over the pop song. But in addition to opening the song, she also closes it, popping in with an adorable, "The End!"

As for what the song itself is about? Well, it fits in with Chemistry's theme of self-love after a relationship. On the track, The "Since U Been Gone" artist—who shares River and son Remy Alexander, 7, with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock—belts out a slew of empowering lines which cast light on her newfound independence with lyrics including: "I'd rather be alone than blue / Know it ain't easy but watch me / Walk the high road without you."

Kelly also gave followers a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the song, revealing on X (formerly known as Twitter) Sept. 19, that her daughter recorded her part at a very young age. 

"Thanks for all the love for my song 'roses!'" she wrote. "I can't wait for y'all to hear the other songs on the deluxe, especially River Rose's feature. She was 5yrs old when she was layin down tracks for 'you don't make me cry.'"

But River is no stranger to working with the Grammy winner. In fact, back in 2019, she starred in her mom's music video for the song "Broken & Beautiful." 

Kelly's album Chemistry officially released in June, and told the tale of her divorce from Brandon, which was finalized in 2022, after seven years of marriage.

After releasing her music, the 41-year-old spoke out about the process of creating the album while going through a divorce.

"I was very, very angry," Kelly told USA Today at the time. "I know a lot of people have gone through grief or a big tragedy like a divorce and I know it's a common thing, unfortunately. But there's nothing common when you're going through it. It's very foreign, it's horrible. A lot of time stupid, stupid (stuff) gets said and you just can't believe it. I was angry and really hurt."

And although she isn't looking for a heartbeat song right now, she's not closing the door finding love one day.

"I don't know that I'll ever get married again," she said on Glennon Doyle's We Can Do Hard Things podcast in June. "I would love whatever the future holds. I'm open to it."