Do ‘American Idol’ Contestants Pay for Their Own Clothes on the Show?

Alyssa Norwin April 8, 2025, 1:40 pm

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Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Brian Dunkleman, on American Idol — Courtesy: Everett Collection

While more than 20 seasons of American Idol have aired, little is known about what really goes on behind-the-scenes of the show. One of the big viewer questions is about the contestants’ wardrobe and whether or not they have to pay for it themselves.

The contestants’ voices are the most important part of the show, but at the end of the day, American Idol is about producing a star, so the look is also vital. Once the live rounds begin, the upped production value is evident, and that’s because wardrobe, hair, and makeup come into play in a much bigger way by that point in the show.

In a 2020 TikTok, former Idol contestant Margie Mays, who made it to the top 40 on Season 17 and was eliminated during Hollywood week in Season 18, gave some insight into what styling is like on the show.

“You are responsible for dressing yourself,” she confirmed. “However, if you make it to the live rounds, which is usually top 14 and above, they do dress you. There will be stylists, hair, makeup, the whole shebang, because they really want you to go from looking like [an] everyday person to a star, and to really transform from the beginning of the show to the end.”

In 2013, the show’s then-costume designer Soyon An told The Hollywood Reporter that the contestants were given $400 an episode to spend on their wardrobe during live shows. By that point in the competition, there is usually a performance show and a results show, which added up to $800 per week for each artist still in the competition. This number likely increased with inflation over the years, but an updated number has not been confirmed.

An said that many contestants spent money out of their own pockets if their desired outfit went over the budget. “The contestants know they will be in front of 300 million people, and they’re creating an image, their brand,” An said. “So if the costume goes over $400, the contestants have to decide whether or not to buy it themselves if they really want to wear it. Also, the $500 is not like rollover minutes. If you only spend $200 one week, you couldn’t roll over the other $200 for the following week. It’s use it or lose it.”

Whatever the contestants do buy, even with the money from the show, they’re able to take home.

Richard Rushfield, who wrote the book American Idol: The Untold Story, told Fox Business in 2016 that the contestants got to go on a shopping trip with a “fashion consultant who works on the show” every week. “They get, like, $450 a week to spend on whatever they want,” he shared. “But a lot of them dip into their own pocket because a few hundred dollars doesn’t go far in a lot of these expensive stores in Hollywood. The clothes are theirs to keep after the show.”

Where Do ‘American Idol’ Contestants Stay While Competing on the Show?

In the earlier days, though, the contestants were more on their own. Season 7 winner David Cook recalled thinking the weekly stipends he received would be more than enough to cover his wardrobe. “The idea of having $100 to $200 to spend on an outfit for your performance was like, ‘Oh my God, how am I possibly going to spend all this?'” he told Business Insider. “And then you go shopping in L.A. and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s how I’m going to spend all of it.'”

There is also a hair and makeup team to help the contestants look their best for live shows.

American Idol, Season 23, Sundays and Mondays, 8/7c, ABC