Kelly Clarkson has had a summer full of changes and new eras, thanks in part to finally releasing her divorce album Chemistry – her first album in six years – and celebrating it with an intimate residency in Las Vegas.
However, the biggest change, and new era, of all hasn't even happened yet, but she did just get one step closer to it finally materializing.
On Tuesday night, the "Red Flag Collector" singer concluded her brief but successful residency at the Bakkt Theatre – throughout which she shaded her ex Brandon Blackstock and capped things off with a surprise performance with her kids – and now she's ready for a brand new phase of her life.
With her residency over with, Kelly's life on the West Coast is also already in the rearview mirror, and as the end of her summer approaches, so does her big move to New York City.
The star announced back in May that she would be uprooting both her family and her professional life to the East Coast, and her eponymous talk show's upcoming fifth season will officially debut from NBC's Rockefeller Plaza studios in Midtown Manhattan.
Despite what will surely be a difficult goodbye to the West Coast, where Kelly has spent decades living since her first ascent to fame in the early 2000s, it's all coming up roses for the talk show host, and not only will her new New York era bring her a brand new studio for her show, but it has also already been renewed for a fifth season, taking it through 2024 and 2025.
Kelly previously opened up about the decision to move in from Los Angeles to NYC in a conversation with TalkShopLive, during which she explained it was an effort to be closer to family.
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It wasn't an easy decision to make, and she admitted: "I haven't actually been able to talk about this a lot. I talked to my crew back in January through tears because I have built such an amazing group of people."
© GettyShe added: "Obviously, we've been very successful and I love everybody I work with and we have such great relationships."
Despite it being a difficult decision, she had little choice, and further explained: "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 to the East Coast,'" adding: "My family is [in the] East Coast. They're North Carolina-based. It was one of those things where I just had to."
© GettyShe did note there were "hurdle after hurdle with things," motivating her to leave California, and that ultimately, her family was seeking a much-needed reset.
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© Instagram"There were a lot of personal things going on, too," she said, 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]."
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.'"
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