INDIANAPOLIS — The 22-time Daytime Emmy-winning talk show is back with new episodes!
The sixth season of "The Kelly Clarkson Show" premieres Monday, Sept. 23 on NBC.
"A lot has happened in those six years for me on a personal level, but it feels so fast. It feels like it just flew by," Clarkson said on looking back at the debut of her talk show in 2019. "You don't know anybody at first and you're kind of figuring it out. I didn't know what the heck I was doing, so figuring it out. Now, it feels like we've been doing it for a decade. We come to work and it's like the perfect pieces that fit together."
And what better way than the original "American Idol" to kick off each episode of her talk show with a show-stopping musical performance? Dubbed "Kellyoke," Clarkson covers songs from other artists and also sings some of her own hits and deep cuts.
"You can tell I'm a fan of Billie Eilish's because I've covered her quite a bit. I just love her as a songwriter, I love her as a singer. I'm just a superfan," Clarkson said. "I have an artist I'm very excited about that I'm covering a few times this season because I've already put in the songs for it: Chappell Roan. I just think she's so fun, and I love her personality. She's very charismatic. Her range is insane."
There have been many iconic moments over the first five seasons of "The Kelly Clarkson Show," including actress Anne Hathaway knowing the instrumental to "Since U Been Gone" before Clarkson does, as well as Clarkson singing P!nk and Alanis Morissette's songs alongside them.
"I think one that always stands out to me is I never thought I would sing with Dwayne Johnson. It was just so amazing. He was like, 'Hey, you want to sing a song?' I was like, 'Hell yeah I want to sing a song. What do you want to sing?' It was just so fun to learn about him musically, even the country side to him that he loves country music. That was one that stands out to me because it was unexpected," Clarkson said.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2024 and 2025 in pop culture, the celebrity guests have already started lining up for upcoming episodes of "The Kelly Clarkson Show."
"For 'Wicked,' I have Jeff (Goldblum) coming on the show. Ariana (Grande), Cynthia (Erivo). I'm very excited about that. My kids are, too. They both asked me to get out of school to come, and I'm like 'hard pass.' I'm a teacher's daughter," Clarkson said. "We might get to sing together, actually."
And there's a fun, new segment planned for the sixth season that gets the people of New York City involved.
"Jaco and Jason from my band, we actually started this thing this season because there's so much talent out there ... we had this thing where we do a 'Kellyoke' right outside 30 Rock," Clarkson said. "Not rehearsed, we had people like Wall Street coming down in suits singing, and then his boss coming down and being like, 'I can actually do better than him.'"
Clarkson said she's excited to see where the segment could lead, with these people potentially coming on the show to sing and duet with her.
"The Kelly Clarkson Show" airs weekdays on NBC.