This morning at exactly 9:00 a.m., the bells of the First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas tolled slowly, their deep chimes echoing through the overcast streets. The sky hung low and heavy, draped in gray clouds that filtered pale ribbons of sunlight through the tall stained-glass windows. It felt as though even the weather had joined in mourning.

At the front steps of the church, pallbearers paused with their solemn burden — a polished walnut coffin, its surface gleaming softly under the muted light. Inside lay Brandon Blackstock, 47, former talent manager, son of Narvel Blackstock, stepson of Reba McEntire, and ex-husband of Kelly Clarkson. His death, following what family sources described as “a brief but serious illness,” had left a void that no music, no words, could easily fill.

As the coffin was about to be carried inside, Kelly Clarkson stepped forward. Dressed in simple black with no jewelry, her hair loose and windblown, she stood rooted at the base of the steps. Her voice wavered, her eyes red from a night of tears.
“Let me sing him a song,” she whispered, almost to herself. “And… to comfort my mother and my children.”

There was no stage, no microphone — just the open courtyard, the early Texas wind, and the raw ache in her voice. She began to sing “Because You Loved Me”, her voice fragile at first, then swelling with bittersweet strength. Each line floated upward toward the church spire, mingling with the rustle of leaves and the faint hum of the city beyond.

Beside her, Blake Shelton stood with his cowboy hat in hand, his head bowed, eyes brimming. On her other side, Michael Bublé — who had flown in quietly the night before — kept a hand on Kelly’s shoulder, nodding gently in time with the melody, as though lending her the strength to keep going.

Inside, just a few steps away from the door, Reba McEntire — wearing a long black mourning dress and a delicate black veil — had been standing motionless. But as the music drifted toward her, her composure cracked. She moved forward to the coffin, sank to her knees, and placed trembling hands on the cool wood. Her voice broke in sobs.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you more…”

No one in the room tried to console her. Heads bowed, hands clasped — they gave her the silence she needed to grieve, to speak to the stepson she had loved as if he were her own child.

When Kelly’s final note faded into the wind, there was no applause, no movement. Only the quiet sound of Reba’s tears falling onto the coffin and the slow tolling of the church bells — a rhythm that felt like the heartbeat of everyone who loved him.