It was quite the surprise — amid talks that Kelly Clarkson might be considering leaving her talk show — to hear that the singer would be returning to The Voice for its 29th season next spring. The American Idol champ left the singing competition in 2023 when she moved production of The Kelly Clarkson Show to New York. So, while there are understandably concerns about what this news means for the talk show, her friends are also reportedly concerned about Clarkson herself.
Kelly Clarkson has spoken candidly (and in some people’s opinion too candidly) about how demanding her talk show’s schedule is. Now, according to Star, adding The Voice: Battle of Champions is only going to add more stress to her plate, and “the feeling is she’s taking on too much.” The source continued:
It’s astonishing to friends that she’s taken this offer. Of course, The Voice is a favorite of hers and it’ll be fun, but people would have preferred for her to pass on it, take a break, be with family and stop worrying about money and putting herself in the spotlight.
The Voice’s 29th season has already begun filming concurrently with Season 28, which will air on the 2025 TV schedule this fall with coaches Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan and Michael Bublé. Kelly Clarkson’s comeback season will premiere in February 2026 and feature fellow coaching icons Adam Levine and John Legend.
In addition to filming the NBC singing competition, Kelly Clarkson is also in the midst of a Las Vegas residency — which itself was the source of drama when the singer canceled the first two shows at the last minute earlier this month — and has one season left on her contract for The Kelly Clarkson Show, which will return in the fall. Clarkson’s friends allegedly think it’s all too much and say she’s “completely burning out and running on fumes.” They said:
She hasn’t pulled the plug on her talk show, but bosses want her to stay despite their differences, and conferences are in the works. She’s juggling so many balls at once.
Other sources had previously suggested that she may be looking to shift the focus of her career back to music but that she’s not rushing into any decisions.
Concern for the single mom of two began earlier this year, when she missed several tapings of The Kelly Clarkson Showdue to a “private matter.” There were also rumors of problems behind the scenes, as the host allegedly expressed a desire to spend more time with her kids.
This makes taking on another venture especially confusing, but with The Voice production and her residency underway — and possibly talks about whether or not to continue her stint on daytime TV — all we can do is wait to see what happens and hope she heeds her friends’ alleged warnings.
We’ll have to wait a bit until we can see Kelly Clarkson return as a coach on The Voice, but fans are already excited to see Niall Horan reunite with Reba McEntire on Season 28 this fall. No premiere date has been announced, but episodes will air on NBC and be available to stream the next day with a Peacock subscription.
