‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson’s ‘American Idol’ Audition Resurfaces After Neighborhood Fight

Before becoming action star Jack Reacher and getting into scraps with his neighbor, Alan Ritchson was one of many American Idol auditionees looking for his break into the industry. Now a tape of him is doing the rounds online again after Ritchson recently hit the news for all the wrong reasons.

Last week, an X user reshared a clip from Ritchson’s somewhat awkward audition on Idol‘s third season, which TV Insider wrote about in February 2025. In the video, a 20-year-old Ritchson appeared before judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul, wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt that showed off his muscles.

“Can I just say, before you start, thank you for putting a little smile on Paula’s face,” Cowell joked as a bashful Abdul laughed.

“There was this one guy in Atlanta, his name was Alan Ritchson, and he’s totally hot,” Abdul said in a confessional.

today I learned Alan Ritchson was on American Idol and managed to charm Paula Abdul in his audition pic.twitter.com/5G6xoTF1z2

— internet hall of fame (@InternetH0F) March 28, 2026

Cowell and Jackson then left the audition room and let Ritchson serenade Abdul up close and personal with a performance of Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” While not having the greatest vocals ever, all three judges voted “yes”, sending him to the next round.

Ritchson made it through to Hollywood Week, where he performed an original song and took part in a group performance with two fellow contestants. He didn’t make the judge’s final 32.

Fans flooded social media with reactions to the resurfaced clip, with one X user writing, “Alan Ritchson on American Idol charming Paula Abdul?? That’s legendary.”

“Alan Ritchson has always been hot before be beefed up,” said another.

“Wait alan ritchson on idol? that’s wild,” another added.

One user wrote, “This is just another proof the aspiring actors are the same ones showing up in every single TV show.”

“Don’t think ive ever seen Reacher smile, nevermind sing,” quipped another.

“Charms Paula Abdul AND becomes an action hero? That’s a win-win career arc,” one fan added.

“Paula Abdul has taste, she recognized the future action star energy,” another user commented.

“From Idol crooner to Reacher crusher, what a glow-up,” said another.

While Ritchson didn’t succeed on Idol, he went on to build an impressive career in film and television. A year after his 2004 Idol audition, he landed a role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman on Smallville before taking his first main cast role in Blue Mountain State in 2010. Since 2022, he’s starred in the titular role of Prime Video’s action-drama Reacher.

Related

'American Idol' Has Shocking Elimination Update During Live Show

Ritchson has been in the news recently after getting into an a brawl with a neighbor in Tennessee. Initially, TMZ released footage that seemingly showed Ritchson hitting a man and knocking him to the ground after an argument ensued about the actor riding his motorbike through the neighborhood.

The neighbor, Ronnie Taylor, told TMZ that the Titans star punched him in the face and kicked him to the ground while repeatedly hitting his head. Ritchson then reportedly fell off his bike, got back up, and tried to run Taylor off.

However, Ritchson later revealed that he was wearing a bodycam and released the footage to TMZ. In Ritchson’s video, Taylor jumps in front of the motorbike, causing the actor to fall to the ground. After an argument, Ritchson tries to drive away, but Taylor keeps standing in front of the bike and pushes Ritchson to the floor. Ritchson then hits Taylor, knocking him to the ground and telling him to “stay down.”