Before Alan Ritchson was breaking bones as Jack Reacher, he was making hearts break — and possibly broadcast standards — with a hips-don’t-lie audition on American Idol that can only be described as: “Male model sings Stevie Wonder while lightly stripping in front of a stunned Paula Abdul.”
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Yes, that Alan Ritchson. The one now known for carrying entire action franchises on his back (and arms, and chest), once tried to charm his way into pop stardom with cheekbones, charisma, and the kind of self-caressing choreography that still lives rent-free in the minds of gay millennials everywhere.
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In the early 2000s — peak bedazzled denim and boyband confidence — a 20-year-old Alan auditioned for American Idol not once but twice. By season 3, he had fully evolved into an Abercrombie & Fitch fantasy, walking into the audition room with model looks and the swagger of someone who knows exactly what their abs can do to a room.
And they did. Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson literally left the judging panel to give Paula Abdul some one-on-one time with Ritchson, who serenaded her with Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” — complete with boyband moves and smolder that could melt a Nokia flip phone.
Magic Mike Before Magic Mike
It was his performance of “Broadway” during Hollywood Week, however, that sealed his place in Idol history. Ritchson caressed himself, shimmied like he was auditioning for Chippendales: The Musical, and delivered a performance so committed you could practically hear the collective gasp from every confused but curious viewer. While he didn’t make it past that round, the clip lives on — part time capsule, part thirst trap, part queer cultural artifact.
From Rejection to Reacher
“Even though I was cut, I was enamored of the passion people had there for their art,” he later told The Wall Street Journal. “I decided to stay [in Hollywood] and landed TV commercials and auditions.”
That decision paid off. Within a year, Ritchson booked Smallville, becoming the first actor to portray a live-action Aquaman. He continued to build a steady résumé (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Titans, Black Mirror), eventually landing the title role in Amazon’s Reacher, which turned him into a certified action hero.
But beyond his square-jawed roles, Alan has also cultivated a deep appreciation among LGBTQ+ fans. Whether it’s from playing a closeted love interest on 90210, proudly embracing his early modeling work (yes, including jockstraps), or sharing his vulnerable mental health journey, Ritchson has become something of a queer-adjacent icon. As Instinct Magazine put it, “He’s not pandering; he’s participating.”
A Star Who Gets It
With a blend of himbo magnetism, emotional depth, and self-aware humor, Ritchson has built a career — and a fanbase — on his own terms. He may not have taken home an Idol crown, but he left with something better: a second act, a leading-man career, and a surprisingly passionate LGBTQ+ fanbase cheering him on.
Justice for the abs. And for Paula.
Source: Hello Magazine
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