Kelly Clarkson ‘Promised My Kids’ She Wouldn’t Do This
By Movieguide® Contributor
Multi-time Grammy award winner Kelly Clarkson was the first person to win AMERICAN IDOL, but she’s not planning on returning to the show.
The competition show is in search of a new judge because pop singer Katy Perry has decided not to return.
While Clarkson’s name has been tossed around as a possible replacement, a commitment she made to her kids will keep her from the position.
“No. No. I can’t do that, only because I promised my kids,” Clarkson told Entertainment Tonight when asked if she would fill Perry’s spot.
“I was like, ‘I wanna be there as much as I possibly can.’ And it would put me in L.A,” she continued.
Clarkson and her family now live in New York, but before their move, Clarkson was a coach on THE VOICE for nine seasons.
Despite her love of the team and her love of coaching, she decided to leave.
A big reason for the change is due to a divorce from her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.
“Full disclosure, I put on a smile a lot of those times because I was struggling a lot in my personal life,” she told USA Today. “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.’”
Clarkson now knows that moving to New York was a great decision for her and her two kids, but at first, she felt it wasn’t a smart choice.
“I’ll be real honest: I thought I was making a horrible decision,” Clarkson admitted of her decision to move. “I knew I needed a fresh start and couldn’t be in LA. I really wanted to be in Montana, but you can’t really do a show from there quite yet. So I was like, ‘The only other option would probably be New York.'”
Movieguide® previously reported on Clarkson:
Having spent much of her life as a public figure, Kelly Clarkson has decided to protect her children from public scrutiny by restricting them from social media until they are adults.
“[Social media] can be really hard on kids in general but especially kids with parents in the public eye,” Clarkson told PEOPLE. “So I have informed them they’re not allowed to, under my roof, ever have [it].”
However, keeping her kids off social media might not be that simple. Clarkson shares her two kids, River Rose and Remington Alexander, with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. Their contentious divorce was finalized in 2022 after two long years, and they’ve found it difficult to parent after their split.
“There’s so much emotion and trauma involved,” Clarkson said. “It’s hard enough when you’re married and you come from two different backgrounds and ways to discipline and educate. Doing that in different households can be tough.”