She may hail from Texas and may have spent close to two decades living in California, but Kelly Clarkson is determined to stay in New York now.
The American Idol alum made the big cross country move last fall with her kids River Rose, nine, and Remington Alexander, seven — plus her eponymous NBC talk show — following her divorce from Brandon Blackstock.
And as opportunities come up for her to go back to Los Angeles and be a part of either American Idol or The Voice again, she says she's sticking by her "promise" to her kids to stay on the East Coast.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight about the potential of replacing Katy Perry on American Idol following her recent departure, she revealed that she "can't do that," noting: "Only because I promised my kids."
"I wanna be there as much as I possibly can," she recalled promising to her kids, and further explained: "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."
Though Kelly has gushed about her family's life in New York, she also previously opened up about what a difficult decision it was to make, despite knowing it was the right one for her family.
© GettySpeaking with TalkShopLive last year about first telling her TV crew about the move, she recalled: "I talked to my crew back in January through tears because I have built such an amazing group of people."
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She added: "Obviously, we've been very successful and I love everybody I work with and we have such great relationships."
© GettyStill, she further shared: "I was like, 'Guys I need you to know what’s happening. It's either I'm not going to be able to continue with the show or I got to go the East Coast,'" and emphasized: "My family is East Coast. They're North Carolina-based. It was one of those things where I just had to."
© Getty"There were a lot of personal things going on, too," Kelly also noted at the time, adding: "I feel like our family, me and my kids, really needed a fresh start and I just could not get it here [in Los Angeles]."
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Finally, expressing her appreciation for NBC for their understanding through the moving process, she said: "It was really cool that NBC backed me because I was, like, 'Y'all I love doing this show, I really do, I didn't even know I would but I got to make a change for me and my family so any chance we can maybe do this. I know we can't do this from my ranch, so, any chance we can do it in New York, which is at least closer to my family.'"
The fifth installment of The Kelly Clarkson Show kicked off last fall for its first season filming at NBC's famed Rockefeller Plaza studios, and Kelly now occupies the set previously used by Conan O'Brien for Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which aired from 1993 until 2009.
