Kelly Clarkson Spent the Summer in the Montana Mountains with Kids: 'Important to Me to Shut Down'

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson is keeping the family together.

While talking to the TODAY show on Tuesday, The Kelly Clarkson Show host, 40, shared what she did during her break over the summer – her first long stretch off since she was 16 years old.

"I literally four-wheeled in the mountains," she told co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Carson Daly in the interview. "I have a lot of water on my property so my sister, my nephew and I and a couple friends just spent the whole summer in the mountains."

When asked by Daly if her kids River Rose, 8, and Remington Alexander, 6, were there, Clarkson said, "The kids were with me and with their dad." Clarkson shares her two kids with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, 45.

"It was nice because they usually have to travel a lot because of our separation so we were both in Montana," she added. "I felt like the first time my kids felt a little more centered as well."

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Clarkson and Blackstock split in June 2020 after nearly seven years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in March.

During the interview, Clarkson also hinted at their complicated divorce. "It's obviously been a rough couple of years so it was really important to me to shut down for a minute," the "Stronger" singer said.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock

In June, the American Idol alum opened up about writing new music while dealing with the ripple effects of her split.

"It's been the hardest thing to navigate. I've never had this difficult of a project," she told The Chart Show with Brooke Reese on Apple Music 1. "It's one of those things where I'm a human and I'm going through something huge. Obviously, everybody knows a huge divorce went through and it's been like, two years and not easy with kids."

Clarkson said that dealing with the divorce "in the public eye" while balancing motherhood "makes it just a whole different dynamic," but that she's always used songwriting as an outlet for her emotions.

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"I've always had a hard time communicating and literally that's how I became a writer at the age of 10, because my mom was like, 'You need to quit bottling it up. And then you explode. You need to communicate better,'" she said. "And so I literally started writing to help me do that."

Clarkson cited Billie Eilish's hit "Happier Than Ever" as the perfect example of how a song can affect others (including herself; Clarkson recently released a cover of the tune alongside an announcement that she'll be putting out a Kellyoke covers EP named after the popular segment on her show).

"That song I'm sure means a whole heap of different things for her. And it's her world and why she wrote it," Clarkson explained. "But the domino effect of her releasing that and how it affects so many other people, because those are the songs when you are completely honest and you're angry and you're sad and you're hurt. And all those things, that equation makes for the best songs. So I'm just navigating what I'm comfortable with releasing."

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While the star didn't offer any hints as to when fans can expect music, she did say that it's "coming," as soon as she figures out what she wants to release.

"I just got to get my crap together!" she said.

Clarkson did give fans a taste of what her post-divorce music might look like last year with "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)," a holiday kiss-off featured on her album When Christmas Comes Around.

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A source told PEOPLE in March that upon finalizing her divorce, Clarkson was ready to move forward.

"Kelly is obviously happy to have the divorce finalized," the insider said. "The kids have always been her main priority through everything. She truly is able to begin the next chapter of her life with her kids, and she's also busier than ever with her career. She's in a great place."