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

Kelly Clarkson was still in the top 65 contestants on American Idol when she sang Dionne Warwick’s “Say A Little Prayer” so naturally, everything about the performance is less formal than when they headed to the stage. That doesn’t make her look less ’00s-ey though.

Kelly opted for pink again, making us wonder if she owns any clothes that are blue or green. Seriously, at that point in her life, she really might not have. As evidenced by her wardrobe on American Idol, everything in Kelly Clarkson’s closet ranged from flirty, pretty pink to burgundy, wine, and brown.

She did color coordinate with the other two ladies involved in “Say A Little Prayer.” Kelly wore a light pink camisole top. Her wine colored jeans were faded through the thighs, which was a popular look at the time.

Kelly wore her hair down for her Top 65 song. This time she let her hair’s natural beach-y waves hang down rather than the typical messy updo. Her signature chunky highlights were also missing during this performance. Kelly’s face and hair had a much more classic look, something she could even pull of today. Her outfit screamed 2002 and makes us all wish that a few trends from that era were still in style.

Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson jumped out of their seats after the performance was over. They had nothing but great things to say about Kelly and her group. Simon Cowell was notoriously pessimistic about Clarkson in the beginning. He managed to admit that the performance was good but said that the only reason everyone else was so excited about it was that the performances before them had been so bad.