Entertainment roundup
Art Alexakis, lead singer of rock band Everclear, has been living with multiple sclerosis for several years, taking meds to slow its progression since the diagnosis in 2016. The good news: to date, he has been able to tour and perform without serious issues.
“I have a very special thing that I’ve achieved in my life,” said Alexakis, who recently spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I don’t take it for granted. It’s wonderful.”
Despite the rigors of hitting the road at age 61, he said, “Touring keeps me going cognitively and physically. It’s a good situation. I have a friend who’s a quadriplegic and he does all this stuff, paints, cooks. He’s amazing. When I see that guy and people like that, I just shut up and go about my day.”
Clarkson changes ‘Piece by Piece’
Kelly Clarkson has altered the lyrics to her 2015 song “Piece by Piece” following her contentious divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
The original version of the song (co-written with producer Gregory Kurstin) included lyrics about how Blackstock “filled the holes” that her father burned into her at the age of six.
When she performed the song during the Aug. 5 performance of her Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood, she switched all the pronouns to singular first-person pronouns: “Piece by piece, I collected me/ Off the ground where you abandoned things/ Piece by piece, I filled the holes/ That you burned in me at 6 years old/ I just walk away when they ask for money/ I take care of me, because I love me/ Piece by piece, I restored my faith/ That a heart can still beat even when it breaks.”