Earlier this year, it was announced that The Kelly Clarkson Show would be moving its production from the Universal lot in Los Angeles to NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York. Now, Kelly Clarkson is opening up about the decision behind the move, saying it was solely her idea because she was ready for a change.
The 41-year-old powerhouse singer and daytime talk show host spoke with Andy Cohen in a recent interview about her reasons for relocating the show to the Big Apple, saying the city won her over the first time she visited.
“I came here, and it won me over. I came here for upfronts for, I don’t know if it was the TV show or The Voice, one of the shows. And I came here, and I was like, ‘Why have I never lived here?” she recalled the epiphany she had while visiting the East Coast.
Why Is Kelly Clarkson Moving To New York City?
Kelly Clarkson, who, in 2020, separated from husband Brandon Blackstock and finalized her divorce two years later, then admitted that Blackstock was part of the reason she stayed back in Los Angeles.
“I know why my ex is not living in a city like this, but I just never had done it,” she shared.
“I’ve never really liked living in LA,” she also told TODAY. “LA is beautiful, lots of things to offer that are awesome. It’s just never been my thing in 20 years, and so I never wanted to live there in the first place.”
Proudly Embracing Single Life
Clarkson, who shares two kids, River Rose and Remy, with Blackstock, now has more freedom to choose where she wants to live as she is proudly embracing the single life. Realizing she wanted to uproot in New York, she says she talked with producers of The Kelly Clarkson Show to make it happen.
“I literally called one of the heads and was like, ‘Listen, my life has been a dumpster fire, and I’m unhappy in LA, and I don’t know if I’ll continue in LA. What are your thoughts about possibly moving this to New York?’ And luckily, right from the get-go, they were like, ‘That’s a huge move, but let’s talk about it. Let me go, let me figure some numbers, and let me figure it out.’ So NBC was highly supportive, which was cool because I think they knew I was serious.”
She Felt Lonely In Los Angeles
Aside from falling in love with New York City, Clarkson admitted that a big reason for the fresh start was due to the feeling of loneliness she experienced while in Los Angeles as most of her extended family lived in North Carolina.
“It was like, ‘I can’t exist here any longer. I’m so lonely. My whole family is across the country,’” she shared. “I think COVID pointed that out too for everybody. It was like, ‘Wow, you can experience a different depth of lonely.’”
“Especially getting divorced, it was just me and my kids all the way on the coast. All of my family lives on this coast. It just got lonely. I’m lonely there, not as in ‘I need a boyfriend’ kind of thing,” she further explained with TODAY, “Lonely as in, you miss your family. You miss having any family or that kind of relationship.”
She Also Relocated The Kelly Clarkson Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show officially relocated in May, and now that Clarkson is in the midst of settling in, she shares what she is most excited about.
“Walking,” she says excitedly. “We go nowhere in LA. And that’s what I do. People are so cool here. People walk by, I take the subway, and my kids love it. They get so angry when we get in a vehicle. And so they love the subway because they feel independent because I don’t let them use their own car or whatever. I love walking around. I love that. That’s the thing that attracts me most is that everybody here has their own life. They’re supportive of people but not living vicariously through your life. They have their own stuff going on, and it’s just awesome. People say hi, and they’ll be like, ‘What’s up?’ And then you go on about your day. I love that.”
On July 28, Clarkson, who recently dropped her new album, Chemistry, will also head to Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for her 10-date residency: Chemistry…An Intimate Night With Kelly Clarkson.
Meanwhile, The Kelly Clarkson Show has been renewed through 2025.
