What do the likes of Dua Lipa, Jennifer Hudson, and Bebe Rexha have in common? Well, they were all rejected from the world's biggest talent competitions — despite going onto become some of pop's most recognisable stars.
This week, a video of Grammy-award winner, Lipa, resurfaced, which sees her starring in a 2013 advert for The X Factor, at the age of 17. Fans of the Levitating singer were shocked at her impressive performance, as well as the fact that she didn't make the cut.
Lipa isn't alone, however, plenty of American Idol and The X Factor hopefuls have been rejected, and gone onto enjoy superstardom.
Here are nine of them...
1. Jennifer Hudson
While Jennifer Hudson did, in fact, make it onto the show, surprisingly, she didn't win — coming seventh place on season three of American Idol.
Hudson had much more success than that season's winner, Fantasia Barrino, however. Just two years later, she started her acting career and has since starred in dozens of films. Most notably, in 2007, she took home an Oscar for her performance in 2006's Dream Girls — alongside none other than Beyoncé Knowles.
2. Naya Rivera
In an episode of The Talk back in 2013, Naya Rivera revealed that she once drove all the way to San Francisco to audition for the show, and didn't make it past the initial round.
But the song she auditioned with — Emotion by the Bee Gees — went onto land her the role of Santana Lopez in the breakout television series, Glee.
The actress tragically passed away last year, following an accidental drowning.
3. Amber Riley
Rivera's fellow Glee alum, Amber Riley, also didn't make the cut.
"I auditioned for American Idol at 17, they told me 'no'," the actress told Wendy Williams when appearing on her show.
Riley, who played Mercedes Jones on the FOX hit series, then revealed that she wasn't even given the opportunity to show off her skills to the then-judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. "I got to the producers. I didn’t get to meet anybody. You know what? I still work on FOX and I get paid!" Amber said. "Thank you, American Idol!
She's clearly doing ok though, as she's got three Grammy nominations under her belt thanks to her time on the musical show. And not to mention, she won season 17 of Dancing With the Stars.
4. Bebe Rexha
Bebe Rexha has had quite the success story — she was nominated for two Grammys in 2019, and her smash hit, Meant to Be, went four times platinum.
However, things weren't always easy for the singer. She actually auditioned for American Idol over a decade ago, and never made it through the first round.
"Ten years ago my mother and I waited 10 hours online to audition for American Idol," she wrote in a tweet in March of 2018. "I didn't make it through. This year I'm mentoring!"
Things definitely came full circle, though — as Rexha says, she went on the talent competition as a mentor in 2018.
5. Chrissy Metz
This Is Us actress, Chrissy Metz, actually got pretty far in the American Idol auditioning process. In 2007, she was narrowed down to the select few to make it onto the competition as an official competition.
Speaking to Yahoo! about the experience, she explained that after going through the first phase of the audition, she had been waiting for hours with a group of other singers when they were all informed that they won't be passing through. She was understandably incensed.
"The guy was like, 'OK, great, thank you all for coming down here, but it's just not what we're looking for this year,''' she told the publication. "And I was like, 'Oh, really? None of us? That's interesting.' And then I said, 'I kind of disagree with you.' I don't know where the hell that came from, because that's not personally who I am, especially when it comes to that! I don't know why I said that."
Still, she looks back at her short stint on the show positively. "I don't think I could have hacked it," she conceded. "I think I was way too sensitive to handle that, and it was too much pressure. So, the universe knew what it was doing… But I'm glad I did it, to sort of see what I was made of."
6. Colbie Caillat
American country music singer, Colbie Caillat, was rejected not once, but twice, from American Idol — and she even used her hit song, Bubbly for one of the auditions!
Caillat never even made it through to the judges round. Speaking about the experience to USA Today, she said: "I wasn't ready for it at all. I was shy. I was nervous. I didn't look the greatest. I wasn't ready for it yet. I was glad, when I auditioned, that they said no."
Things came full circle, however, and she was later invited to be a mentor for the show, just like Bebe Rexha.
7. Hillary Scott
As a member of Lady Antebellum, Hillary Scott has gone onto release six albums, and win seven Grammys, but she didn't even make it past the producers when she auditioned for American Idol, twice.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly in 2010, she told an American Idol hopeful: "I tried out for American Idol twice, and didn’t get past the first round, if that gives anyone hope. Keep going!"
8. Maren Morris
Maren Morris was rejected from American Idol and The Voice.
The Grammy-nominated artist, who has charted on two billboard charts, now says that she's glad that she never made it onto either talent competitions.
On What Happens With Andy Cohen Live, she recalled auditioning for American Idol at the age of 17, only to be rejected after singing for "eight seconds". While she remembers crying on the way home with her mother, she added, "But, I mean, it all worked out."
"I think about all of the freaking talent shows I've tried out for in my life and I'm so glad I didn't make any of them," she corroborated to Rolling Stone in 2016. "It's full circle, because I was rejected from 'The Voice.' I was rejected from 'American Idol' — and I'm happier for it now."
9. Jordin Sparks
Sure, she later went onto win American Idol season six, but Sparks was actually rejected initially when she auditioned in 2006, as a mere 16-year-old.
She went home and later went onto win Arizona Idol — this put her on the fast track in Seattle when it came to auditioning again. And as we all know, she went onto win the crown.
Wach her second audition below...
