Kelly Clarkson Fights Back Tears as Her Children Help Say Goodbye to The Kelly Clarkson Show After Seven Seasons and More Than 1,200 Episodes
After seven seasons, more than 1,200 episodes and 22 Daytime Emmy Awards, The Kelly Clarkson Show has officially come to an end.
The final episode aired Monday, August 31, closing a chapter that began in 2019 and transformed Kelly Clarkson from Grammy-winning singer and American Idol champion into one of daytime television’s most successful hosts.
Rather than turning the finale into a somber farewell, Clarkson and her team filled the hour with the things that had defined the series: music, memories, the people behind the show and, most importantly for Clarkson, family.
Her children River Rose and Remington Alexander joined their mother on set, with one simple comment from River bringing Clarkson to tears.
And fittingly, the show that became famous for “Kellyoke” ended with Clarkson doing what audiences first fell in love with her for — singing.
Kelly Clarkson chose her children over the daily television schedule
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Clarkson announced in February that Season 7 would be the final season of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
Her reason was deeply personal.
The singer explained that leaving the demanding schedule of a daily television program would allow her to devote more time to River and Remington.
“This season will be my last hosting TKCS,” Clarkson wrote in her announcement.
“Stepping away from the daily schedule will allow me to prioritize my kids, which feels necessary and right for this next chapter of our lives.”
But Clarkson was equally clear that she was not retiring from public life.
“This isn’t goodbye,” she assured fans.
She said she still planned to make music and perform occasional concerts, while leaving open the possibility of appearances on The Voice.
“You never know where I might show up next,” she teased.
Seven seasons turned the show into a Daytime Emmy powerhouse
When The Kelly Clarkson Show premiered in 2019, Clarkson was already one of the most recognizable voices in American music.
Daytime television gave audiences another side of her.
Across more than 1,200 episodes, the series combined celebrity interviews, human-interest stories, comedy and live music, including the hugely popular “Kellyoke” segment.
The show accumulated 22 Daytime Emmy Awards during its run.
Clarkson personally received four hosting trophies, winning honors in the Outstanding Talk Show Host and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host categories.
By the time the finale arrived, executive producer Alex Duda said the team wanted the goodbye to feel more like a celebration than a funeral.
“We just tried to make it be a celebration,” Duda told PEOPLE, explaining that the final episode was designed for the fans and to give everyone an opportunity to say goodbye together.
River and Remington joined their mom for the final episode
Given Clarkson’s reason for stepping away from the show, it was particularly appropriate that her children became part of its farewell.
River Rose, 12, and Remington Alexander, 10, joined their mother on set.
Clarkson shares both children with her late ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.
Their appearance prompted Clarkson to reflect on just how much life had changed during the show’s seven-season run.
When the program began, River was still in kindergarten.
Now, Clarkson said, her daughter is preparing to enter middle school.
Her son has grown up in front of the show’s extended family as well, even getting the opportunity to perform with the band.
“They’re the greatest kids in the world,” Clarkson said.
Then each child was asked to share a favorite memory from their mother’s years on television.
River’s message immediately brought Kelly to tears
Remington had more than one favorite.
He remembered getting to talk with Jason Momoa and also singled out the time he performed “My Way” with the show’s band.
River’s answer was much simpler.
“I like watching you shine every single day,” she told her mother.
The studio audience immediately responded with a collective “aww.”
Clarkson became emotional.
It was an especially poignant moment considering that being more present for River and Remington is the reason she gave for ending the show in the first place.
Seven years earlier, River had been a kindergartner while her mother launched a new television career.
Now she was sitting beside Clarkson as that chapter closed.
Clarkson finally performed ‘Golden’ after overwhelming fan demand
The finale also gave fans one last opportunity to participate in one of the show’s signature traditions.
“Kellyoke” has been a defining part of The Kelly Clarkson Show, allowing Clarkson to cover songs spanning different generations, genres and styles.
For the final episode, audience requests helped determine what she would sing.
One song apparently stood far above the rest.
Clarkson performed “Golden” by Huntrix from KPop Demon Hunters, describing it as the “most requested Kellyoke EVER!”
The song had become a worldwide phenomenon after its July 2025 release, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and topping charts in more than 30 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and South Korea.
Its demanding vocal range also made it a natural showcase for Clarkson.
For fans who had spent years watching her reinterpret other artists’ music through Kellyoke, the performance offered one final reminder of why the segment became so popular.
But Kelly saved one of her own songs for the final performance
Clarkson did not end her seven-year run by singing someone else’s hit.
The final performance belonged to her.
She released “I’d Be Lyin’” on July 17 and had already performed the track during her “Studio Sessions” Las Vegas residency.
But the Kelly Clarkson Show finale marked its national television debut.
It also became the last musical performance of the series.
After years of using the program to celebrate other singers through Kellyoke, Clarkson closed the show by stepping back into her primary role as a recording artist.
That choice also pointed toward what comes next.
Ending the talk show does not mean ending Clarkson’s music career.
Quite the opposite.
‘This isn’t goodbye’
The conclusion of The Kelly Clarkson Show is significant because of everything the series accomplished in seven seasons.
More than 1,200 episodes.
Twenty-two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Four individual hosting wins for Clarkson.
Hundreds of celebrity conversations, personal stories and Kellyoke performances.
But Clarkson’s farewell has always been framed less as retirement than reprioritization.
The daily schedule is ending.
Her music is not.
Neither are occasional live shows or potential television appearances.
And during the finale, the reason for that decision was sitting right beside her.
River was preparing for middle school. Remington was remembering singing with the band. Seven years had passed far more quickly than Clarkson seemed able to believe.
Then her daughter looked at her and summed up those years in one sentence:
“I like watching you shine every single day.”
For a show built around Kelly Clarkson’s voice, one of its most emotional final moments belonged to her daughter.
