Kelly Clarkson wants to take a judge seat on American Idol, but her promise keeps her away, as she shared the reason why she can’t replace Katy Perry as a judge.
The very first Idol winner won’t come back to sit in a judge’s chair because she would have to pay the price of being away from New York City and her children.
“I can’t do that, only because I promised my kids,” Clarkson told Entertainment Tonight in an interview published on Saturday, June 8.
I was like, ‘I wanna be there as much as I possibly can.’ And it would put me in L.A., and that’s why I had to quit The Voice, which I love that team. And I miss them so much.
Clarkson has been a coach on The Voice for seasons 14 to 21 and returned for a one-off run in season 23.
In 2023, Clarkson stated that the discord in her marriage to her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock had overshadowed a large portion of her stay on The Voice.
“Full disclosure, I put on a smile a lot of those times because I was struggling a lot in my personal life,” Clarkson admitted in October last year.
“I’ve learned a lot about what I’m capable of handling, and also what you should not handle. That was me saying ‘bye’ to The Voice and having this big move. I love that family, but I was like, ‘I’m struggling. I can’t smile anymore. I don’t feel like smiling.’”
