Kelly Clarkson Pens Love Song Inspired by Meryl Streep & Martin Short’s ‘Only Murders’ Romance

Amidst all the gruesome killings on Only Murders in the Building, something else about the show stuck out to Kelly Clarkson: the onscreen romance between Meryl Streep and Martin Short’s characters, about which the musician wrote a new song called “Where Have You Been.”

Released Friday (May 2), “Where Have You Been” finds Clarkson singing romantic, first-dance-worthy lyrics about finding one’s soul mate after years spent searching — a concept that first came to her when watching the hit Hulu murder mystery series, she revealed on her SiriusXM show. “It’s Martin Short’s face,” she told listeners. “He says to Meryl Streep’s character in the show, ‘Where have you been?’”

“He’s like in awe, and I was like, ‘Has anyone written a song?’” Clarkson continued on the episode that aired one day ahead of the track’s arrival. “Because the song is happy, ’cause it’s like you found something that you thought was almost basically a unicorn and did not exist.”

On the fourth season of Only Murders, which wrapped in October, Short and Streep’s characters get married in a ceremony held at the Arconia. Even sweeter, the two actors are rumored to be dating in real life.

“Where have you been?/ What took so long?/ I thought I’d found you/ Found out I was wrong,” Clarkson sings on her new ballad. “I almost gave up/ My light was so dim/ And now, here you are/ Where have you been?”

The track marks Clarkson’s first proper release since 2023 album Chemistry, which reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Funnily enough, another Only Murders star was featured on the LP: Steve Martin, who shows off his banjo-playing chops on the song “I Hate Love,” on which the “Stronger” singer directly name-checks the Father of the Bride actor in the lyrics.

Listen to “Where Have You Been” below.