Kellie Pickler

The 19-year-old Pickler auditioned for American Idol in the fall of 2005 in Greensboro, North Carolina. She sang both Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing". The judges unanimously sent her to Hollywood. Pickler advanced through the semi-finalist rounds in February. On March 9, she reached the Top 12.

Pickler was among one of judge Simon Cowell's favorites. He once predicted Pickler would be in the final three, and said he preferred her personality over the previous season's winner, Carrie Underwood..

Recognized for her "quirky" personality and Southern charm, Pickler gained attention on the show by saying (for example) that she had hardly ever performed before real audiences, pronouncing "salmon" as "sal-mon", "calamari" as "cali-mar-y", and confusing "minx" with "mink." She also amused many people with her false eyelash incident, saying that it felt as if there were "tarantulas on her eyes". She was compared to Jessica Simpson in a March 27 story in US Weekly magazine entitled "Kellie: The Next Jessica Simpson", due to her "sweet Southern style and ditzy demeanor." Later in a J-14 article, she responded to the comparison by saying "Vocally, Jessica's great, and she's beautiful." Various Internet weblogs alleged that Pickler was merely putting on an act in order to win votes. Host Ryan Seacrest asked Pickler about the allegations during the April 4 broadcast, and she denied the claims. It was also revealed on the Ryan Seacrest radio show that it was he who started some of the rumors by mentioning during the competition that Ace and Kellie would make a great couple. On April 19, Pickler and contestant Taylor Hicks became the only contestants among the rest of the Top 6 to never be in the bottom 3. That changed on April 26 when she was in the bottom 2 and then eliminated. Due to time constraints, her exit performance was not aired on the show, which happened to be the first time this occurred in American Idol history. Her exit performance was later shown when she appeared on Extra.

Pickler returned in the finale to sing several songs with the other finalists; she was also featured in a pre-taped segment called "Puck 'n Pickler", in which she was introduced to some unusual food by chef Wolfgang Puck for the show's comic relief. In the segment, viewers learned that Pickler does not fancy going near live sea animals.