Kelly Clarkson Gets Candid About Difficult Talk Show Exit

With The Voice returning for a special Battle of Champions season on February 23, Kelly Clarkson has been promoting the unique twist on the competition. Alongside her will be host Carson Daly and coaches John Legend and Adam Levine. Excited to be back in the famous red chair, Clarkson’s career went through some changes when she announced the end of her talk show. Having helmed over 1,100 episodes, Clarkson recently discussed when she decided it was time to step away – and why the hardest part of the decision had nothing to do with the cameras.

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Appearing on Today with Daly and Legend, the interview took a different direction when Clarkson opened up about her own show. Not directly addressing the death of her former husband, Brandon Blackstock, she said, “Well, I think everybody probably gets the timing. Our family life, the dynamic changed a bit and it has changed for a minute now.” 

Knowing how the industry and fans might take her exit, Clarkson promised, “I know everybody thinks, ‘Oh she quit.’ I’m like, ‘I still have other jobs. I’m still doing stuff.’ There’s just too much on the plate. So I’m like, ‘You know what, it’s time to kind of pull back.’”

[RELATED: Kelly Clarkson Reassures Fans She Isn’t Done With Music as She Exits Her Talk Show]

Kelly Clarkson Considered It An “Easy Decision” As A “Mama”

While making the decision with her family’s best interest in mind, Clarkson insisted it didn’t come without a great deal of pain. “That’s what was really hard. The crew’s been incredible. It wasn’t that the show wasn’t doing well. That’s what kind of sucked, it was like, everything was going well. That’s what was really hard. It was people’s jobs. We are family there as well.” 

Although heartbroken over saying goodbye to the cast and crew, Clarkson knew as a “mama”, it was “an easy decision.” 

Offering little on what the future might hold for her, a source close to the singer explained how Clarkson’s 2026 motto was balance. “Kelly still wants to make music and perform, and she’s open to popping up on projects she enjoys, but nothing that requires an ongoing daily grind. For her, this next phase is about balance.”

As Clarkson reshapes her schedule around family and music, her next chapter looks intentionally lighter. But thankfully, fans can still watch the hitmaker on The Voice: Battle of Champions, premiering on Monday, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and available to stream the following day on Peacock.

(Photo by: Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)