Imagine hanging at a karaoke bar in New York City on a random Thursday when someone gets up to sing “Since U Been Gone” — and it’s Kelly Clarkson.
The moment is documented on The Voice‘s Instagram page: Kelly, along with fellow Voice coach John Legend and online personality Druski, took the stage at Baby Grand karaoke bar to belt out a few numbers, including “Since U Been Gone” and Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
On NBC’s Today show Friday morning, The Voice host Carson Daly explained that on Thursday, he, John and Kelly went out to dinner together, along with Druski and some other people, and then someone suggested they go to the karaoke bar next door.
“It was so loud!” Kelly said of the bar crowd. And she was quick to add that singing her own hit wasn’t her idea — the patrons at the bar got her to do it.
Kelly also explained why this season will be the final one of her talk show. She said, “I think everyone gets the timing,” possibly referring to the death last year of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, her children’s father.
“Our family life, the dynamic changed a bit and it has changed for a minute now,” she said. “It’s one of those things when you kinda start seeing life as how precious it is, too.”
“There’s just too much on the plate … it’s time to kinda pull back,” she said.
Noting that ending the show impacts the jobs of multiple people, Kelly said, “That was a really hard thing for me, but an easy decision as a mama.”
The new season of The Voice, featuring Kelly, John and Adam Levine, debuts on Monday.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
