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‘Idol’ Can Transform Ya: Biggest ‘AI’ Makeovers Ever

Posted Tue Apr 13, 2010 4:49pm PDT by Lyndsey Parker in Reality Rocks

Most American Idols are made, not born. Sure, their singing ability may have been there from the start, but they walked into that audition room looking like just any boy- or girl-next-door. It was only after they were manhandled by a 19 Entertainment-supplied dream team of stylists, hairdressers, makeup artists, personal trainers, and cosmetic dentists that their superstar transformations were complete.

And of course, some less fortunate Idols end up going through changes on their own, both good and bad, once they leave the show and are left to their own devices.

So what sort of makeovers (or makeunders) will Season 9’s contestants undergo once “American Idol” is over? Will Siobhan Magnus ditch the Missy Elliott boots and Mr. Peabody spectacles once and for all? Will Crystal Bowersox comb out her dreads? Will Andrew Garcia cover up his neck tattoos? Will Casey James (gawd forbid) chop off his goldilocks? Who knows? But here are some of the more dramatic and drastic  metamorphoses of Idols past.

Nikki McKibbin was Season 1’s token “rocker”–meaning she had pink hair, wore studded wristbands, and sang Alannah Myles songs. Like it or not, she set the flame-haired prototype for the Vanessa Olivarezes, Amy Adamses, Gina Glocksens, and Allison Irahetas to come. Still, perhaps the voting public wasn’t entirely convinced of darling Nikki’s rockin’-ness, given that she only made it to third place. After leaving the show, the former karaoke queen and exotic dancer was determined to prove she was a real rocker, even rejecting an offer from 19 and RCA to record a country album. She then cultivated a darker, slightly Evanescence-esque new look that included raven-black locks, sooty eyeliner, and lots of leather, leather, leather. Her self-released music didn’t quite take off, and then her image grew even darker, as she battled her drug demons on “Celebrity Rehab.” After getting clean, she ballooned in weight, but now, after almost two years of sobriety, Nikki has achieved a great deal in her personal life, even if her entertainment career is still in flux.

One of the most controversial contestants of Season 1 (Simon Cowell HATED him, yet he got enough votes to make the top 12), Jim Verraros continued to court controversy post-show by becoming the first “Idol” alum to come out as homosexual, long before Clay Aiken or Adam Lambert followed suit. And along with this out-and-proud confession came a whole new look for Jim. Gone were the dorky brush-cut hairdo, geek glasses, and pock-marked skin…suddenly Jim had reinvented himself as a pretty-boy club kid, complete with sideswept Zac Efron haircut, guyliner, mesh tank tops, and saucy pout. And this was YEARS before Danny Noriega hit the “Idol” circuit, too.

Perhaps no Idol has undergone quite as dramatic a metamorphosis as Clay Aiken. The Season 2 runner-up made his television debut as a bespectacled, scrawny pipsqueak, an image that totally belied his deep, manly voice. But by the time he returned to the “American Idol” stage for the Season 5 finale–sporting a brunette bob, suave suit, and filled-out face–he was nearly unrecognizable. (Post-makeover, he didn’t even remotely resemble his supposed lookalike, Michael Sandecki, the geeky fan he ambushed onstage that night for a surprise duet.) Later on Broadway–sporting flowing curly locks, medieval garb, and about 30 extra pounds–the new “Spamalot” star’s startling transformation continued.

“American Idol” Season 2 champ Ruben Studdard was always large and in charge, hence why he received comparisons to the similarly stocky Luther Vandross and earned the nickname “Velvet Teddy Bear.” But despite the fact that voters had never minded that there was more of Roooooben to love (he did, after all, beat out the much skinnier Clay Aiken), eventually Ruben Studdard’s weight became a scary health issue. Fearful about his family history of diabetes and hypertension, Studdard devised his own vegetarian diet and became the spokesman for his home state’s “Scale Back Alabama” fitness campaign–and he lost more than 100 pounds.

A true duck-to-swan fairytale heroine come to life, Kimberley Locke hardly came across as a babe when she auditioned in Season 2. But behind the mom jeans, unflattering geek glasses, and what Simon rudely called “weird hair,” lurked a great beauty to match Kim’s gorgeous voice. Her makeover began that season at the hands of skilled “Idol” stylists, but later–after signing up to be a Jenny Craig spokeswoman and losing 40 pounds on “Celebrity Fit Club”–her upgrade was complete. She looked so fine, she even caught the attention of her rumored future beau, “Celebrity Fit Club” drill sergeant Harvey Walden