'Reacher' fans can't look away as Alan Ritchson's 2004 'American Idol' audition resurfaces: 'This is just...'
Long before he was blasting the bad guys as Jack Reacher, Alan Ritchson was an aspiring crooner who showed up for an 'American Idol' audition. The year was 2004, and Ritchson was not the established and bulky action star he has become today. The video, which has been going viral across social media platforms, introduces Ritchson as a young struggling singer, trying to find his big break in Hollywood. The audition clip was shared last week by a user on X, featuring a somewhat awkward Ritchson walking up to the three-judge panel in the third season of the long-running musical reality television show, 'American Idol'.
today I learned Alan Ritchson was on American Idol and managed to charm Paula Abdul in his audition pic.twitter.com/5G6xoTF1z2
— internet hall of fame (@InternetH0F) March 28, 2026
Ritchson was 20 years old at the time and is seen wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt that shows off his muscular frame. Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell were the judges back then, and just as soon as Ritchson entered the room, Cowell quipped, "Can I just say, before you start, thank you for putting a little smile on Paula’s face." Abdul, on her part, is seen bashfully laughing. She also remarked during a confessional aside, "There was this one guy in Atlanta, his name was Alan Ritchson, and he’s totally hot."
Jackson and Cowell then left the audition room, leaving Ritchson with Abdul so he could sing to her. Ritchson rolled out an intimate rendition of Stevie Wonder's 'You Are The Sunshine Of My Life'. Although it was readily apparent that Ritchson was not the most talented candidate to have ever walked through the doors of 'American Idol', all three judges unanimously voted 'Yes' for him, thus enabling him to move up to the next round. Ritchson eventually made his way to Hollywood Week, where he performed an original song and even sang with two other contestants. Unfortunately, Ritchson's journey on the third season of 'American Idol' was cut short after he failed to make the Top 32.
The throwback video prompted several individuals to appreciate Ritchson's career. One user commented, "Alan Ritchson on American Idol charming Paula Abdul?? That’s legendary," while another user wrote, "Wait… Reacher himself was on American Idol?? And he charmed Paula Abdul?? That’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming." A third user remarked, "This is just another proof [that] the aspiring actors are the same ones showing up in every single TV show." Meanwhile, Ritchson's career eventually took off despite not reaching the top spot on the musical reality television show. A year after his audition, Ritchson landed the role of Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, on 'Smallville'. In 2010, he bagged his major leading role in 'Blue Mountain State'. His career has been on the rise since his first appearance as Jack Reacher in the Prime Video series ‘Reacher’.
