The Voice coach Reba McEntire broke down in tears as she remembered her late stepson, Brandon Blackstock.
McEntire, 70, wept after contestant Aubrey Nicole performed Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” during the Monday, October 27, edition of the NBC singing contest.
“I lost my oldest son because he did not win with cancer so that was a real reminder that life goes on and we sing songs about it so that we can remember the ones that we love so much and that we lean on at times like this,” she explained on the show.
Snoop Dogg, a fellow Voice coach, passed McEntire some tissues.
Reba McEntire Recalls ‘Precious’ Bond With Late Stepson Brandon Blackstock
Us Weekly confirmed in August that Brandon died at the age of 48 following a private battle with cancer.
McEntire had known the music manager since he was 4 years old, when she began dating his father, Narvel Blackstock. She married Narvel in 1989, and at the time, Brandon was “13, 14,” the singer recalled in an interview with People earlier this month.
“My relationship with my stepson, Brandon Blackstock, was precious,” McEntire told the outlet. “I absolutely loved that child.”
She and Narvel, 69, divorced in 1995 and share one son, Shelby, 35.
Reba McEntire Breaks Her Silence on Stepson Brandon Blackstock’s Death
“Along with his mom and dad, I helped raise him, along with [Narvel’s other kids] Shawna and Chassidy,” McEntire said of Brandon and his siblings. “They were my kids.”
McEntire remembered Brandon as the “funny” kid who loved to “pull drinks” and “scare people.”
Among his favorite targets: The employees at Narvel’s management company, Starstruck Entertainment.
“We’d be at the office there at Starstruck in Nashville and I’d be sitting at my desk and I’d see Penny Chubb [a Starstruck Entertainment staffer] walk by going to the lady’s room, and then here comes Brandon,” McEntire recalled to People, laughing. “He’d hide behind the pillar.”
Reba McEntire on How Brandon Blackstock’s Kids Are Handling His Death
She added, “Brandon is sorely missed, truly missed with his mischievousness and his love of life. He brought joy to everybody that met him, and we’ll never forget him.”
Brandon later followed in his dad’s professional footsteps. He married Kelly Clarkson in 2013, and the two shared a close bond with McEntire. Brandon and Clarkson, 43, welcomed daughters River in 2014 and Remy in 2016. (Brandon was also the father of Savannah, 23, and Seth, 18, from his marriage to Melissa Ashworth.)
Clarkson filed for divorce in 2020, the year that McEntire began dating her fiancé, Rex Linn.
One month after Brandon’s death, McEntire gave an update on how his children are handling the loss.
“The kids are doing well, they’re all bonding together and hanging out with each other, and taking it one day at a time,” McEntire told Entertainment Tonight in September. “We know God’s got this.”
