Lauren Alaina is a successful singer-songwriter, but she started out by singing on “American Idol” when she was just 15 years old. Alaina, who has a new album due out soon in addition to a Hallmark movie releasing this month, has now opened up about what it was like to be on the “American Idol” stage and how that affected her mental health.
Alaina’s new album, according to an interview with ET Online, is all about healing. The album, titled “Sitting Pretty on Top of the World,” helped Alaina through some tough times, she told the outlet.
The title track, Alaina told the outlet, is about her struggle with depression, but she turned it into a breakup song to hopefully reach more people.
Alaina Says She Lost 45-50 Pounds While on ‘American Idol’
During her time on “American Idol,” Alaina lost a lot of weight. She continued losing weight through the tour that followed her season, and she told ET Online that she struggled with bulimia as well.
“I ended up losing probably 45 to 50 pounds… from the beginning of ‘American Idol’ to the end of the ‘American Idol’ tour,” Alaina told the outlet. “It got pretty bad. I was on national television at 15. People called me fat, there was a blog that called me Miss Piggy and put a snout on my face… [people] can be really cruel, and I didn’t have tools to deal with that.”
She told the outlet that she was battling bulimia until people told her that purging would hurt her voice.
“They told me that if I didn’t stop, I would never sing again, and I didn’t want that,” she told the outlet. “That was a wake-up call for me, and it took me a few years even after that to really get to a better place. And I still go check in with the therapist every once in a while, specifically for an eating disorder. But I’m healthy now, and I got some curves and I’m proud of ’em!”
Alaina’s album debuts on Friday, September 3, 2021.
Kelly Clarkson Also Struggled With Self Image Following ‘American Idol’
“American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson stopped by actress Mayim Bialik’s podcast, “Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown,” where she talked about the parts of being famous that she finds the hardest.
Clarkson talked about the fact that she always has to worry about her appearance and the pressure she has felt to appear in a certain way starting with her time on “American Idol.” During the interview, Clarkson had on no makeup and pigtail braids, but she said her manager would not want her to look that way.
“I think the biggest thing for me in my whole career is, just being me has been really hard,” she shared. “Like, no manager would ever want me to do this – I have no makeup on.”
She later shared an anecdote about working in the industry early on in her career.
“I was sitting in a room full of – no offense, I love men, I love older men, they’re great – but I was sitting in a room full of men that were far older than me telling me what I should be like, what I should say in interviews, what I should sing, and I’m like, ‘Y’all don’t even listen to me. You’re not even my core audience. Like, how would you know?’” Clarkson shared.
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