Heavy/NBC Kelly Clarkson, seen on "The Voice," is leaving Los Angeles
After months of rumors about a possible cross-country move, Kelly Clarkson is officially leaving Los Angeles. According to Variety, the superstar and coach of “The Voice” will move her daily talk show to New York City and into a brand new studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the iconic NBC building that’s also home “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.”
Clarkson has taken multiple breaks from L.A. the last couple of years, kicking off the last two seasons of her talk show with episodes filmed in New York. She also left L.A. temporarily to spend the summer of 2022 at her Montana ranch with her kids — River Rose, 8, and Remy Alexander, 7 — whom she shares with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. In August 2022, she told the TODAY Show that she hadn’t taken a summer off since she was 16 years old and she needed an extended break after a difficult two years navigating her divorce.
Multiple factors likely played into Clarkson’s decision to leave for good, including tax benefits for her show in New York, Clarkson’s desire to appear in a Broadway show someday, and the fact that she has filed restraining orders against two stalkers who’ve repeatedly trespassed at her home in San Fernando Valley, a suburb of L.A.
What’s not clear is whether Clarkson’s big move means she’s also leaving “The Voice,” which films in Hollywood. Clarkson currently appears as a coach on Season 23 of the NBC series after taking a year-long hiatus from the show, and fans have lots of theories about what will happen next for her and the show.
Kelly Clarkson Has Multiple Reasons for Moving to New York
NBCKelly Clarkson sings on “The Kelly Clarkson Show”
Variety first reported in January 2023 that the team behind “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” which has been on the air since 2019, was exploring a move to New York. On May 9, those rumors were confirmed when an NBCUniversal spokesperson informed the outlet that the show — and Clarkson — are uprooting and moving East.
The show, which is nominated for 11 Emmy awards this year, will be filmed in front of a studio audience in Studio 6A, which has been home to late-night shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and David Letterman. Per Variety, a “new state-of-the-art studio will be built” for Clarkson’s show ahead of its fifth season kickoff this fall.
A big reason for the move is financial, thanks to the recent expansion of New York’s Film Tax Credit, which provides a tax incentive to eligible TV productions that relocate to New York. Talk and variety shows used to be required to commit to filming for five years in New York to qualify, but the recent changes reduced the timing to two years. “The Kelly Clarkson Show” has been renewed through 2025, per the TODAY Show, so it’s now eligible for the tax incentive.
The incentive to move Clarkson’s show likely came as music to her ears. In November 2022, Clarkson told Variety she wouldn’t live in L.A. if she didn’t have work obligations there.
She said, “No. 100%. It’s nothing against L.A. It’s just hard for me to be in a place that has one season. I love rain, and I love storms. I’m just from a different place.”
“But I do try (to enjoy it),” she continued. “We go to shows. My kids have the most amazing teachers and they have the most amazing experience because it is sunny all the time there.”
During the same interview, Clarkson revealed that a Broadway show is among her future career goals.
“I have dreams of maybe Broadway one day,” she said. “And I have different dreams I’ve had since I was a kid. I don’t know how it’s all going to pan out. I could do the (talk) show for years, if we’re lucky enough to have the legacy that these other people have. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean I can’t do Broadway in a summer. That doesn’t mean I can’t have that gypsy mentality and change it up.”
As for moving her kids to New York, an inside source told Us Weekly on May 9, “This move won’t have much of an impact on Kelly and Brandon’s co-parenting relationship since they already live in different states and she has primary custody.”
But she’ll likely be keen to find a home where she feels they’re very safe, given all the security issues she’s had at her L.A. home. In December, she obtained temporary restraining orders against two separate stalkers who repeatedly showed up at her house, and permanent orders were put in place in January, per Page Six. But one of them ignored the orders and was arrested in February, according to TMZ.
Questions Loom About Kelly Clarkson’s Future on ‘The Voice’
NBC“The Voice” Season 23 cast (l-r): Niall Horan, Carson Daly, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Chance The Rapper
With Clarkson moving to New York, many are wondering whether the star will continue her role as a coach on “The Voice,” which films on the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles. Clarkson was on eight consecutive seasons of the singing contest before her hiatus last year and then returned for her ninth season in March 2023, alongside longtime coach Blake Shelton — who will leave the series after this season — and newcomers Niall Horan and Chance the Rapper.
It’s not impossible for a cast member to appear on “The Voice” without living in L.A., but it requires frequent travel there to tape the different phases of each season. Shelton shares an L.A. home with wife Gwen Stefani and Horan has a home in the Laurel Canyon neighborhood, per NBC, but Chance the Rapper lives in Chicago after a failed attempt to live in L.A. several years ago, according to DJBooth. Host Carson Daly, meanwhile, lives with his family in New York but travels frequently to L.A. to tape “The Voice,” according to an interview with his wife, Siri, on the ScaryMommy blog.
“The Voice” has not announced when it will begin filming Season 24 nor who the judges will be. Typically, two seasons air per year, but in 2022 NBC only aired one season, in the fall, for which filming began during the summer.
If Season 24 is slated to air this fall, that may prove difficult for Clarkson, who already has a busy summer ahead between moving her show and family to New York, promoting the June 23 release of her new album, “Chemistry,” and performing a 10-date residency in Las Vegas in July and August. NBC also recently announced Clarkson will be among the featured performers during the TODAY Show’s Citi Concert series but, unlike other stars, her summer concert date hasn’t been determined yet.
Twitter has been abuzz with fans posting theories about what they think will happen with Clarkson on “The Voice,” with many worried she’ll leave the show.
“I wonder if @kellyclarkson will leave the voice too since her show is moving to New York,” one wrote.
An East Coast fan tweeted, “I’m happy in a way because we’re now on the same coast, but I’m sad because she will no longer do the Voice.”
But many fans on Twitter predicted the show will follow Clarkson — and Daly — by moving its production to New York once Shelton is gone.
One person tweeted, “plotting ways to get alicia keys back on the voice bc she’s from new york and if kelly is moving then so is the voice…i’ve cracked the code”
Someone else predicted the same, tweeting, “Yes. I think the voice is moving to New York too but I am sure because Carson live in NY and then kelly moving to New Jersey/ NY area”