15 of Kelly Clarkson’s American Idol looks, ranked by ’00s-ness

So here we are at the number two Kelly Clarkson look when it comes to ’00s-ness. How could Kelly not rank high with her performance of “Natural Woman” during ’60s week? She managed to take the Aretha Franklin hit and make it her own while competing against the first American Idol top 8.

As far as Kelly Clarkson’s look, it was drastically different than anything else we’ve seen her wear on the show. Despite singing about being a “Natural Woman,” Kelly went for a very feminine take on menswear and it reminds us very much of Britney Spears.

Kelly wore a cropped white shirt with a loosely tied black tie in place of her typical pendant necklace. A pair of low-slung wide-leg black slacks revealed a few inches of flat, tanned belly and a wide brown belt. Kelly’s second best look on America Idol was perfectly pulled together by a black fedora that made the whole ensemble take on an air of drama.

Even though Kelly Clarkson was up against some major contenders as she hit the top eight, it’s easy to see by her performance of “Natural Woman” why she took home the win on the very first season of American Idol. 

10,000 contestants tried out for the first season although the early episodes only showed the best of the best and a few of the worst. It seems that after trying to kickstart her career by herself, American Idol was the perfect competition for Kelly Clarkson to display her talents and rise to the top.