Welcome to a behind-the-scenes look at the 20 Amazing Bodies of American Idol Stars! From Kelly Clarkson to Keith Urban, these chart-topping artists have dazzled us on stage, and now they're sharing their secrets to looking and feeling fabulous. Discover how Katy Perry maintains her radiant skin, Luke Bryan conquers long bike rides, and Carrie Underwood keeps her body in top shape. Join us as we delve into the wellness routines, fitness tips, and self-care practices of your favorite American Idol personalities. Get ready to be inspired and motivated to lead a healthier and more vibrant life, just like these incredible stars.
1. Kelly Clarkson
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Kelly Clarkson was the series’ first ever winner. She tells People that she feels beautiful when she receives compliments, and she wants to give them to others. “I really do think that, yes, it’s nice to look beautiful and it’s nice to get dolled up,” she said. “But, it’s a different kind of thing when you get a smile from someone because you’ve done something that’s touched them. And I think that my mom complimented me in the best way growing up that wasn’t about aesthetics. It was about what’s happening inside and your character.”
2. Katy Perry
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Katy Perry is one of the judges on the series’ revival. She talked about some of her skincare secrets with The Wall Street Journal. "I have my certain potions and lotions, for sure, but I actually love Kora Organics, which is a line that Orlando’s ex-wife, Miranda made. She has this turmeric moisturizer that I swear by," Perry shares. "I just incorporated it into my life in the past year...once I find products they’re staples for decades. I use that a lot, but [Orlando and I] like to do steaming, sauna, cold plunges. We really like to wake up the self. We really like to take care of our telomeres, you know what I’m saying?"
3. Luke Bryan
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Luke Bryan is a judge on the series’ revival. He tells Men’s Journal that he loves to bike ride, and does a lot of long rides. “I've been doing some pretty long rides recently, going out around the house and doing 40 or 50 miles. A few of the guys I know who watch my numbers and stats came to me and said I was ready for the 100 miles. I wasn’t so sure, but I couldn’t turn it down. I also have a Trek Madone perfectly fit for me, which makes the miles easy.”
4. Carrie Underwood
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Carrie Underwood won the show’s fourth season. She works with trainer, Eve Overland, to help her stay in shape. Overland shared some of Underwood’s workouts with E! News. "Each workout incorporates both upper-body as well as lower-body exercises. Most commonly, we will work with opposing muscle groups. Day one could be upper-body push exercises, like chest presses and triceps extensions, and lower-body pull exercises, like hamstring curls and deadlifts. Day two could be upper-body pull, like lat pull-downs and biceps curls, and lower-body push, like squats and lunges."
5. Ryan Seacrest
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Ryan Seacrest has been the host of the show since the beginning. He opened up about his health and wellness secrets with People. "I'm like con-vegan, I call it conveniently vegan," he says of his diet. "So I do cheat and eat things every once a while, but I try and mostly stay plant-based and fish-based occasionally."
6. Kellie Pickler
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Kellie Pickler first competed on season 5 of the show. She shared her skincare secrets with HollywoodLife. “When I’m getting ready for a big event and want a bit of that golden glow without exposing my skin to the sun, I use Tone Fruit Peels body wash to get my skin smooth before I apply a self-tanning lotion.”
7. Jennifer Hudson
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Jennifer Hudson was a contestant on the third season of the show. She talked about her self-care secrets with Allure. “I make a point to find time to exercise. I've been finding that healing and centering. I love bike riding. It feels [good] to be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor, to be able to sit on the porch, listen to the birds, watch the kids play. I appreciate it.”
8. Katharine McPhee
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Katharine McPhee was the runner-up of the show’s fifth season. In an interview with E! News, McPhee talked about her struggles with an eating disorder, and how having a baby made her more confident in her body. “What I didn't expect was to have the baby and then be so at peace with my body," she said. "I had this, wow, like this huge appreciation of what my body had just done and given me that I wish that I'd given myself a little bit more of that grace through the pregnancy."
9. Lauren Alaina
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Lauren Alaina was the runner-up of season ten. She talked about how her wellness routine has changed to The Tennessean. “My low speed is what my high speed used to be,” she said. “I went from not working out at all to working out six days a week. The most rewarding thing, it’s not looking in the mirror because that’s hard for me. The most rewarding part is that I have people asking me to help them.”
10. Randy Jackson
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Randy Jackson is one of the show’s original judges. He notably lost a lot of weight, and is the founder of Unify Health Labs. “I was able to talk with top health experts: physicians, nutritionists, fitness experts, biologists, and more,” he wrote in a blog post on the website. “They helped me a lot on my journey. And I wanted to share this expertise and information with as many people as possible.”
11. David Archuleta
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David Archuleta was the runner-up of the show’s seventh season. He is open about his mental health, and came out as a member of the LGBTQ community. Archuleta talked about his journey with Wondermind. “Therapy helped me so much to get to a place where I understood myself. Before that, I looked at myself through the lens of what my parents raised me on or as someone who was on American Idol when I was 16 years old. I looked at myself through the lens of the public, and I used that to define me. And I grew up as a Latter-day Saint, aka the Mormons, and I used that lens to see myself and identify myself. While all those parts are a big part of what makes me who I am now and gives me my unique perspective on life, it was limiting.”
12. Haley Reinhart
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Haley Reinhart appeared on the show’s tenth season. She talked about what she wants people to take away from her music to Forbes. “I feel like I have several callings and one of them is to be a light warrior for whoever I can reach. There's a lot of people out there who are told even to feel sadder than they have to be. Like s**t's bad enough. So I'm trying to overcome what I'm dealing with, spread love and peace however cliche it sounds. That is the bottom line message for everything that I've put out. So I'd rather focus on that; help people reach their higher selves, their higher consciousness, and just focus on that especially at the shows. When we're together, I feel that energy bouncing back and forth. It depends what kind of energy you want to put out there, but I'd rather be uplifting powerfully.”
13. Scotty McCreery
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After having his first child, season ten winner, Scotty McCreery has learned to say “no” to things. “The power of saying ‘no’ to some things is becoming a big thing for me,” he told UsWeekly. “Realizing, ‘Hey man, you’re a father now.’ I wanna be there for my kid and we’re still busy, I’m still working my tail off, but we’re not saying ‘yes’ to everything like I used to always do. I gotta have time with my kid, I gotta have time with my family. So, that has changed a lot.”
14. Lionel Richie
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Lionel Richie is a judge on the revival series. He shared the best lessons he’s learned to Forbes. “The one I learned from most is get used to hearing no, but don't let that stop you. Half of the success stories, even in the tech world today, were people who dropped out of mainstream schools and followed their own desire to create something different. Like Steve Jobs and the Zuckerberg’s of the world. Of course, after they formed their company, they brought in great like-minds to help them formulate and put it together. But they didn't let anyone talk them out of what the dream was. They heard no and still had that stick-to-it-ness.”
15. Fantasia Barrino
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Fantasia Barrino won the third season of the show. She talked about her desire to stay healthy in an interview. “I wanted to be the person in my family to stand up and say, ‘okay we have to eat better and workout.’ I want to be around for a long time. I can’t travel like I do and not be healthy. You know how I move on stage. At any minute I could just pass out and that’s not good.”
16. Chris Daughtry
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Chris Daughtry appeared on the show’s fifth season, finishing in fourth place. He talked about his diet to Muscle and Fitness. “I have to change my eating habits,” he said. “I have to change the way I look at food. I have to change my lifestyle and not make it a ‘diet.’ And so I started trying to dial it in and then, this last year, I got really serious about it.”
17. Jennifer Lopez
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Jennifer Lopez appeared as a judge on six seasons of the show. Lopez is an amazing dancer, and this makes up a lot of her fitness routine. She tells HELLO! Magazine, "I am 100 percent convinced that working out is part of what makes me so happy. Dance has always been a huge part of my life and taking the time to move my body and do something that's so good for me is key to my happiness."
18. Jordin Sparks
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Jordin Sparks won season six of the show, being the youngest person to do so. She talked about her diet in an interview with People. “I wanted to try eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of three big meals,” she says. “I like it a lot better and I don’t feel like I’m starving at any time. Just ‘grazing’ and fueling my body.”
19. Harry Connick Jr.
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Harry Connick Jr. appeared as a judge on the last four seasons of the original series, and is currently a judge on Australian Idol. In an interview with The Telegraph, he revealed that he and his wife, model Jill Goodacre, like to go on walks. “Jill loves to walk, so we take our two dogs to Irwin Park, not far from our house. Lucy, our shih-tzu, is 12, and Tuka, a rescued mixed breed, is two. Tuka basically looks like Toto from The Wizard of Oz.”
20. Keith Urban
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Keith Urban was a judge on the last five seasons of the original series. He opened up about his Vegas residency to USA Today. “Playing with the audience instead of playing at the audience is how I like to do what I do. I love the audience being engaged right out of the gate. In Vegas especially, you get a lot of different kinds of people, lots of fans and a handful of curious people who might know me from one song or from "(American) Idol” and they come to see what this guy is about. I’m not that kind of sit-there-and-watch-this performer. I love to be like, ‘We’re here, let’s go!’ I’m on my feet, you’re on your feet.”
