Top 100 American Idol Quotes

Words matter. These are the best American Idol Quotes from famous people such as Diana DeGarmo, Ari Lennox, Carrie Underwood, Simon Cowell, Corey Clark, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.

I always knew I wanted to be involved in entertainment

I always knew I wanted to be involved in entertainment in some way. But I really can’t say I’d be where I am now if I hadn’t been on ‘American Idol.’
Diana DeGarmo
Yeah, the first contract I signed, that was the first time I realized, Oh man, never mind, I don’t want to do this anymore, but it was too late. I realized it was a bad thing because I wanted to try out for ‘American Idol’ and all these different things couldn’t do that because I was in this contract.
Ari Lennox
I think after coming off of ‘American Idol’… people kind of expect you to just be awesome all the time, and we’re still learning. I had a lot of stage experience, but it was in a 200-seat theater, you know – it wasn’t thousands of people in front of me.
Carrie Underwood
If we had to choose one American Idol to go out to dinner with, it would be Fantasia. There are no airs and graces about her… I like her.
Simon Cowell
At the end of the day, it is about the album and book and also about setting the record straight, because ‘American Idol’ has done a great job of defaming my name and throwing a lot of mud at me for the past two years. So that set up a lot of roadblocks for me.
Corey Clark
Winning ‘American Idol’ gives the opportunity to really help make a change to a lot of lives, and making a difference has given me the greatest satisfaction and joy.
Taylor Hicks
‘American Idol’ is sometimes lumped with reality shows and it has that element – folks-next-door battling it out in a contest. But instead of fighting leeches, bugs, parasites and each other, as on CBS’s ‘Survivor’ and other shows that imitate it, the ‘American Idol’ contestants, of course, sing.
Tom Shales
When one person does something that works, everyone else wants to do it. So it didn’t surprise me at all to see people come with different versions of ‘American Idol’ and a lot of them are exactly the same but with different twists.
Ruben Studdard
It’s funny because ever since ‘American Idol,’ people look at me without makeup and think I’m 15 years old – they think I’m really young and quiet and shy, and that I’ve never been in a relationship and have never been in love or anything.
Candice Glover
I have no choice but to admit that, for a while, I was a casual viewer of ‘American Idol.’ By ‘casual viewer,’ I mean I watched every episode aired between 2004 and 2007.
Kim Brooks
The TV is often on in our house, but I really only keep up with three shows: ‘American Idol,’ ‘Modern Family’ and ‘The Walking Dead.’ Sometimes I’ll sip red wine – it’s a nice way to slow down and relax.
Carrie Underwood
At the time, the only options were playing the local county fair. Now with American Idol and younger recording artists that have come out, there is more of an opportunity.
Marla Sokoloff
Winning ‘American Idol’ really anoints you the opportunity to have a great career; it does not anoint you a career.
Scott Borchetta
Most people use Twitter to meet girls, and I use it to meet ‘American Idol’ contestants!
Chris Jericho
There’s a lot I’ve yet to say about ‘American Idol,’ so I am excited about teaming up with ‘Idol Go Home’ and starting my blog.
Brian Dunkleman
There’s something about seeing somebody who thinks they’re great and is so wrapped up in their moves, voice, and performance that makes it so wonderfully charming that you can’t take your eyes off. That’s why we all remember William Hung from those first years of ‘American Idol. It’s the William Hung effect.
Craig Robinson
I really do think that getting the golden ticket for ‘American Idol,’ it’s just the start of something really great.
La’Porsha Renae
I think the attraction of ‘American Idol’ is about the basic human nature attitude that is, ‘We can put you up there. But we can take you down.’
Quincy Jones
Well, being that, at the house and being in the competition, it was very hard to be with family. We couldn’t have visitors out of respect for everyone else there. But, being the American Idol, the focus would have been on me.
LaToya London
Before ‘American Idol’ and all this stuff, I was obsessed with music charts, and I used to go online to find out what was popular in other countries. I’d log on to the BBC website, and that’s how I found out about artists like Natasha Bedingfield, Daniel Bedingfield and Take That.
David Archuleta
If millions of Americans choose to weigh in on the outcome of ‘American Idol’ through text messages and the Web, then why not harness similar technological tools to encourage discourse on the political landscape?
Ruzwana Bashir
The biggest risk I’ve ever taken is going on American Idol and trying to be myself. I wasn’t going to try too hard to conform, and I knew that it could possibly not work out.
Adam Lambert
Carrie Underwood was just a small-town Oklahoma girl with big dreams in 2005 when she competed on the fourth season of ‘American Idol.’ She is one of the few true ‘American Idol’ success stories and went on to have incredible career success.
Fabrizio Moreira
I’ve been watching ‘American Idol’ since I was five years old.
Jessica Sanchez
Nobody held a gun to my head and forced me to write recaps about the tenth season of ‘American Idol.’ Although I feel like someone must have and I just forgot about it.
Paul F. Tompkins
I’ve been asked to do ‘American Idol’ and ‘X Factor.’ I’m an Ed McMahon kind of girl. ‘Star Search?’ I’m in, all day long. It felt more authentic, and the market wasn’t oversaturated with karaoke contests.
Pink
I am broadcaster’s biggest cheerleader because I genuinely believe in it. Where else can you get 20 million people a week watching ‘NCIS’ or ‘American Idol?’ Where else can you get 120 million watching the Super Bowl?
Leslie Moonves
I don’t watch ‘American Idol.’ I don’t watch any of that stuff.
Denis Leary
With ‘American Idol,’ you are on your toes a lot. People don’t realize the amount of work.
Diana DeGarmo
The Internet has changed how young people listen to music. Television programs like ‘American Idol’ changed how people listen to music. It was no longer the songwriters that we celebrated; it was the singers.
Robert Hilburn
Look at ‘American Idol,’ which I don’t look at. Those winners haven’t become household names except for Jennifer Hudson, and she was a reject. You can’t aim to be a household name. You just have to be successful.
Andre Leon Talley
I was very honored to get to be part of 'American Idol.

I was very honored to get to be part of ‘American Idol.’
Dolly Parton
I will always appreciate ‘American Idol,’ and I never forget about where I come from.
Lee DeWyze
A lot of the people who have been on ‘American Idol’ have unfortunately not been very successful after the show is over. I would be one of the most successful contestants to not make it to the Top 12. So that would be a good statistic to throw into the show. It’s what you make of it.
Todrick Hall
There’s a lot of things that are said on the American Idol message board. I quit reading them because most of the people are very mean.
Carrie Underwood
I’ve never watched an entire episode of ‘American Idol’. It’s too mean.
Christina Aguilera
I’ve tried to move on with my life and my career for the last two years and do my own thing, and ‘American Idol’ and FOX, they’ve just been making it really tough for me to do that.
Corey Clark
The whole ‘American Idol’ way of looking at things is the antithesis of what I grew up with. There are a whole lot of kids wanting to be famous now, whereas if I’d even mentioned that word to one of my teachers, I would have got into a whole load of trouble.
Harry Connick, Jr.
My aunts and uncles were like, ‘You’ve got such a great voice – why don’t you try out for ‘American Idol?” I’d say, ‘Because I’m a songwriter, not a puppet.’ Even if I won and became really successful off a show like that, I’d be miserable.
Mark Foster
‘American Idol,’ for me, is fizzling out. They can’t package me, man… I’m an artist that’s created this concept but used the ‘American Idol’ machine as a marketing tool.
Taylor Hicks
The world is so caught up in the ‘American Idol’ idealistic sort of tendency in regards to just thinking that this whole thing is what everybody wants, but it doesn’t help you make a better record.
Maxwell
What I love about ‘American Idol’ is that it’s broad.
Channing Dungey
American Idol transcends age, gender, ethnicity, everything.
Carrie Underwood
If you don’t have any ties to the music industry, you just love ‘American Idol,’ you can sit there and do exactly what you do in your living room, which is stare at them and judge them.
Neil Patrick Harris
Obviously neither ‘American Idol’ nor ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is a variety show in the classic sense, but the way they incorporate elements of drama, comedy and suspense is moderately ingenious.
Tom Shales
We aren’t handicapped in any way except by what other people think. Focus on people’s abilities. I can’t be on ‘American Idol,’ but there’s all kinds of stuff I can do.
Marlee Matlin
I auditioned for ‘American Idol’ at 17. They told me, ‘No.’
Amber Riley
I got in the audition line called ‘Making the Band’ because I wanted to be in a band. If I didn’t, I would have done ‘American Idol.’
Dawn Richard
I think ‘American Idol’ has prepared me for anything.
Gabby Barrett
The people that go on ‘American Idol’ do want some recognition and fame.
Kimberly Caldwell
Hip-hop is a way of life. It isn’t a genre in truth in ‘American Idol.’
Nigel Lythgoe
‘American Idol’ was just really a platform. What you do after that is what separates you from the show. And I’ve been working really hard, touring constantly, and building those fans. You’ve got to work hard.
Phillip Phillips
I grew up watching ‘American Idol.’
Syd
I’ve been wanting to sing for a long time. I’ve been singing all my life, and I’ve tried different record companies, but it seemed like – it was such a struggle and so hard to get out there. So, I said, ‘I’m gonna go on American Idol and see how far it takes me.’
Fantasia Barrino
I wouldn’t have made it past the first round of American Idol auditions. It was months before our first song was recorded. The guys were like, ‘Just seeng!’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know how to seeng! Can’t I just play the triangle?’
Malin Akerman
‘American Idol’ is a juggernaut… Because of my ‘American Idol’ win, I am able to do the thing that I love most, which is to be an entertainer.
Taylor Hicks
Instead of plotting the demise of the traditional family, as some politicians and religious leaders would have you believe, gay people mow their lawns and watch ‘American Idol’ and video their children’s concerts and have the same hopes and dreams that their straight counterparts do.
Jodi Picoult
‘American Idol’ became a juggernaut of epic proportions, but to me it was always like home.
Nigel Lythgoe
I’m also a big ‘American Idol’ fan. I think it’s just great fun.
Jim Parsons
I think a big part of ‘American Idol’ that scares people and actually has, I’m sure, stopped people from trying out is the fact that you do have to do things that are necessarily not your genre.
Lee DeWyze
I’ve always loved R&B. That love seemed to start in church. But then I saw Carrie Underwood on American Idol, and I fell in love with country. Heck, I loved the hair bands of the ’80s too, so I have always loved country and rock ‘n’ roll.
Gabby Barrett
It was actually really hard to get a record deal after ‘American Idol.’
Gabby Barrett
When I heard 'Jesus, Take the Wheel,' I was like, OK. S

When I heard ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel,’ I was like, OK. Some people look at it as a song written for an American Idol, Carrie Underwood, who is wonderful. But when you’re a songwriter listening to a song, you hear something else. I heard that song, and wow.
Lady Gaga
I don’t watch ‘American Idol’ – that’d be like getting divorced from somebody and then hanging out with them.
Brian Dunkleman
I was rejected from ‘American Idol’ – and I’m happier for it now.
Maren Morris
I would lose straight away if I went on ‘American Idol.’
Tom DeLonge
I learned about this talent show on TV that was basically the Estonian version of ‘American Idol.’ So I lied about my age, went on the show, and won. I think my story is about working really hard and dreaming really big.
Kerli
‘American Idol’ opened up all the doors to where I am now.
Ace Young
I’ve always wanted to be a recognized singer and just – just so people can hear my music – and thought, you know, look how many people watch ‘American Idol.’ Why not audition, you know?
Diana DeGarmo
There were a lot of challenges I had to face on ‘American Idol’ that helped me grow in a few different ways that I’ll take forever with my career.
Gabby Barrett
My favorite type of music to sing and to listen to, you know, rock. It’s not always metal, but you know, half the time it is. Metal’s cool, you know? Not everybody on ‘American Idol’ listens to metal.
James Durbin
The Biggest Loser,’ ‘The Voice,’ and ‘American Idol’… they’re giving people opportunities to do what they’ve always dreamed of doing… to me, that’s great reality television.
Kurt Warner
These days the whole ‘American Idol’ and ‘The X Factor’ and all that stuff has opened up doors for songwriters like me. I get songs on their albums.
Chesney Hawkes
I have watched every single season of ‘American Idol’ since the beginning, when Ryan Seacrest co-hosted with Brian Dunkleman. Brian who? Exactly.
Phoebe Robinson
American Idol, I love. I think it’s a passing fancy but not passing so soon.
Diane Sawyer
In all honesty, I’m not able to talk about contracts. It’s nothing with ‘American Idol’ in particular, it’s just things I really need to take care of in my life.
Mario Vazquez
That was very difficult for me on ‘American Idol’ to feel like I had to be a certain way. It wasn’t that the producers were saying that you shouldn’t be gay or whatever, but there was this unspoken energy around saying you have to appeal to Middle America, and Middle America at that point was not ready for all that.
Todrick Hall
Who wouldn’t want to be an ‘American Idol’ judge? It’s an awesome, awesome show.
Jane Krakowski
An American Idol is someone who knows how to change people’s lives through music.
Anwar Robinson
Have you seen ‘American Idol’ lately? I’m sure that some kids somewhere at this moment are thrashing themselves silly over what they call ‘Rock n’ Roll.’
Eric Burdon
I tried out for American Idol, I got a record deal, and now it’s like my best days are ahead of me.
Danny Gokey
In the realm of fakery, I would choose ‘Rock Band’ over ‘American Idol’ or over any of the other flimsy truths masquerading as music.
Carrie Brownstein
I definitely love ‘Camelot.’ It’s my favorite show. I’m a big ‘True Blood’ fan. I love ‘American Idol,’ and I love my girl J-Lo. The rest are my homework shows: ‘Forensic Files,’ ‘Dr. G. Medical Examiner,’ ‘The First 48.’
Tamala Jones
I was 15 on American Idol, and everybody had something to say. It was like I had my really awkward phase on national television, you know?
Lauren Alaina
My first album after ‘American Idol’ I did with Desmond – we paid for it together, and we literally were together working on it every day for a year and half, just writing. We wrote in New York, Nashville, L.A., Sweden – we wrote with some other amazing songwriters like Diane Warren, too.
Ace Young
Especially now, with ‘Glee,’ it’s allowed a lot of kids to love music and performing at a young age. All ages watched ‘American Idol,’ but I think it was nice to be able to show kids, ‘Hey, you can be here, too.’
David Archuleta
It’s always been a dream to audition for ‘American Idol.’ But you have to be 15 or older.
Grace VanderWaal
I was on TV for almost sixteen weeks during American Idol. It’s at the point now where it’s old.
Clay Aiken
Acting is the most bizarre profession. You can stay in it for years and not really be in it and be waiting for someone to give you an opportunity. It’s like when I watch ‘American Idol’ and see people who have been told to believe in themselves at all costs: It’s not always a good idea.
Lauren Graham
You know, when I did ‘American Idol’ the three times, I tried to tell these kids you have to tell the story of the lyric.
Barry Manilow
I watch ‘The Voice’ and ‘American Idol,’ and I sit in my Brookstone foot massager. It’s so exciting at my house.
Jennifer Love Hewitt
I’ve never bought a Dylan record. A singing poet? It just bores me to tears. I’ve got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of ‘American Idol,’ we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don’t believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make ‘American Idol ‘a better show.
Simon Cowell
When you think about success – whether it be in softball, getting into college or becoming an ‘American Idol’ singer – whatever your goals and aspirations are, you’re going to have to stand out at some point if you want to succeed.
Jessica Mendoza
'American Idol' is the fast track to fame. I'm just luc

‘American Idol’ is the fast track to fame. I’m just lucky it worked out. I don’t feel different. The way people react to me is different.
Crystal Bowersox
If you’re going to go the way of ‘American Idol,’ then you better be able to do what you want musically, because just going for the fame will only keep you happy for so long.
Beth Hart
‘American Idol’ is a machine. It’s a machine that’s making a lot of money, that’s selling a lot of product. It’s ‘American Marketing.’
Linda Perry
I’m cute – and God I hate that. Because that’s not cool. I’m like your niece, and nobody wants to date their niece. It’s the chubby cheeks. The whole reason people voted for me on American Idol is because I’m an everyday, normal girl.
Kelly Clarkson
Who’s judging American Idol? Paula Abdul? Paula Abdul judging a singing contest is like Christopher Reeve judging a dance contest!
Chris Rock
I’m not in this to make money. I would not have sold my soul to be on ‘American Idol.’
Mark Foster
I think America did a great job. I think Carrie Underwood fits the bill of American Idol. She’s a wonderful girl, and she’s gonna have a great career.
Bo Bice