“The Voice” revealed earlier this year that longtime coach Kelly Clarkson will not be returning for the new season. Now Clarkson is opening up about her decision to quit the reality show.
Why did Kelly Clarkson leave “The Voice”?
Before “The Voice” announced that Clarkson would not be returning to the show for the fall 2022 season, the first “American Idol” winner hinted at some major life changes.
“I decided this year that there would only be a few changes for me that I can’t say here,” she said earlier this year, per Yahoo. “I’ve been able to make more time just for myself and my kids while still working. Just where we can get away on the weekends and really do fun things with my kids.
“They only want to hang out with you for so long and it’s now so I have to take advantage of that,” she added.
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Clarkson shared that she spent the entire summer with her 8-year-old daughter, River, and 6-year-old son, Remington, at her ranch in Montana — her first summer away from work since. that she was 16 years old.
It was a time when she was usually busy filming “The Voice” and moving forward on other projects, but her divorce from music executive Brandon Blackstock was finalized earlier this year, and Clarkson said she had need free time.
“Especially when all the feelings are happening, I’m like, ‘Oh, let’s be as busy as possible, so I don’t have to feel this for a minute! ‘” she told Variety. “I do that, which is not healthy. I was like, ‘I just need to keep swimming like Dory, and then I’ll get there.’ That’s why taking this summer was so important to me, even though a lot of people were a little disappointed because I was supposed to do a few things. Obviously, I gave up ‘The Voice’ this season, because I just needed space.
But the break gave way to creativity, Clarkson said. She started thinking about her next album – her first in five years – which she said will be released in 2023.
“It’s an important album,” she told Variety. “I work on that in therapy: I sometimes have trouble expressing what I feel, so music helps me. It’s just really healing.
“Some of the songs, they definitely run the gamut of emotions; it’s all on the album,” she continued. “It’s almost like the arc of a relationship, because the beginning is so beautiful and so sweet, and then it evolves. And sometimes it doesn’t evolve the way you want it to.
After recharging over the summer, Clarkson is focusing her efforts on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which, in its fourth season, has now received the coveted timeslot previously held by Ellen DeGeneres, per Variety. Throughout the season, the show will feature a wide array of guests — everyone from Hillary Clinton and first lady Jill Biden to fellow Clarkson “Voice” coaches Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.
Clarkson is also set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 19 — the day the new season of “The Voice” premieres, according to walkoffame.com.
Will Kelly Clarkson return to ‘The Voice’?
Clarkson first joined “The Voice” in 2014 and has won four times — including the most recent season which saw the trio of Girl Named Tom brothers claim victory, per Deadline. The coaches of “The Voice” have gone back and forth over the years. Gwen Stefani and Nick Jonas swapped places on the show, and Ariana Grande arrived for season 21 and won’t be returning this fall.
Singer-songwriter Camila Cabello is replacing Clarkson as coach for the upcoming season of “The Voice,” the Deseret News reported.
Over the years, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus have also coached, according to reality TV site Gold Derby. Shelton is the only remaining original coach on “The Voice.”
Clarkson told Variety there’s a good chance she’ll return to the show.
“I absolutely … uh, I Most likely will be back on ‘The Voice’ at some point,” she said with a laugh. “I strength be back at ‘The Voice’.
