Kelly Clarkson On Why She Won’t Be Replacing Katy Perry On ‘American Idol’: “I Promised My Kids”

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Kelly Clarkson is shutting down the idea of replacing Katy Perry on American Idol.

The first-ever winner of the reality series is not planning on becoming a judge of the singing competition and recently revealed the reason why.

“I can’t do that, only because I promised my kids. I was like, ‘I wanna be there as much as I possibly can,’” Clarkson said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the Daytime Emmy Awards. “And it would put me in L.A., and that’s why I had to quit The Voice, which I love that team. And I miss them so much.”

Clarkson had been juggling being a coach on NBC’s The Voice and hosting her daytime talk show based in LA but moved to the East Coast last year to spend more time with her kids.

“I wanted a life for us. And we enjoy the park every day, and we enjoy each other,” she told the outlet. “As a parent — people get this — you only get so much time until they don’t want to hang out with you. That’s the reason [I can’t do Idol]. It’s my kiddos.”

Perry recently said farewell to American Idol after seven seasons on the show. The singer was part of the ABC revival of the singing competition alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Since Season 16, the judge’s panel has remained unchanged until Perry’s departure. ABC has not announced who will take Perry’s spot when the show returns for Season 23.