In 2000, King was asked to record a version of her hit song "Where You Lead" as the theme song for the show Gilmore Girls. She often performs this song with her daughter, Louise Goffin.
King launched her Living Room Tour in July 2004 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. That show, along with others, were recorded as The Living Room Tour in July 2005. The album sold 44,000 copies in its first week in the US, landing at 17 on the Billboard 200, her highest-charting album since 1977.
In May 2012, King announced her retirement from music. King also said she will most likely not be writing or recording any new music. Early in December 2012, King received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In late 2012, the Library of Congress announced that King had been named the 2013 recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. In May 2013 Carole King received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.