Why Kelly Clarkson Says Releasing New Music Independently as the 'Boss' Feels Different
Clarkson released her first independent single, "Where Have You Been," earlier this month
Whatever Kelly Clarkson releases next is up to her.
In an interview on the May 6 episode of Today, the three-time Grammy winner opened up about putting out new music as an independent artist after sharing her latest single, "Where Have You Been," earlier this month.
"It's interesting, I'm going back and forth with just releasing what I want when I want and doing a full album," Clarkson, 43, whose last album, Chemistry, came out in 2023, told host Carson Daly.
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"I'm going back and forth on that. And the really cool thing about that, Carson, is I'm the boss, so I can do what I want," she added. "Because the next one we're working on doesn't sound like this song, so it's a little more rock and roll."
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Released on May 2, "Where Have You Been" marks Clarkson's first independent release on her newly launched label, High Road Records, and features lyrics about finding love after a period of hardship.
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"Where have you been? / What took so long? / I thought I'd found you / Found out I was wrong," she sings on the chorus. "I almost gave up / My light was so dim / And now, here you are / Where have you been?"
Clarkson will perform two shows at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City on May 9 and 10, followed by her upcoming Studio Sessions residency at the Colusseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas later this summer.
Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty Kelly Clarkson in April 2025
Related: Kelly Clarkson Thought She Found True Love. How Being 'Wrong' Inspired Her New Song 'Where Have You Been'
In the Today interview, the "Miss Independent" singer teased of the upcoming residency, "This is totally different for us, how we're doing it."
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"It's called Studio Sessions, and the reason for that is I feel like you don't get live anymore — maybe back in the '70s — but you really don't get live what you really feel in the studios," explained Clarkson. "You fill out the whole stage, like I've hired more musicians, more singers are coming out, we're literally filling out everything."
She added, "There's no tracks at all of any instruments or anything. It's all live. It just feels amazing in the studio, so we wanted to bring that into the setting for everybody, so it's going to be really fun."
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