Ryan Seacrest Shares Dramatically Different Throwback Photo as He Reunites With ‘American Idol’ Contestant

Brittany Sims April 8, 2025, 7:55 pm

Ryan Seacrest and former American Idol contestant Grace Leer — Ryan Seacrest/Instagram

Ryan Seacrest rocked frosted tips in a throwback photo shared to Instagram. The American Idol host posed with a former contestant and then shared a photo of them now as well.

“Crazy to think the first time I met @graceleermusic was on American Juniors—and now she’s gone from a Top 10 #Idol contestant to a star. She had some great advice for the next wave of talent chasing their dreams… and Hollywood Week is where those dreams start. Tune in now, West Coast!” he captioned the post on Monday, April 7.

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A post shared by Ryan Seacrest (@ryanseacrest)

In the photo, Seacrest had blonde frosted tips and wore a brown T-shirt as he stood on the stage with a young Grace Leer. Leer made the Top 10 on Idol Season 18. But before she auditioned for one of the biggest singing shows in the world, she performed on American Juniors, which only ran for one season in 2003. It was a spinoff of Idol but for children.

Seacrest then shared a photo of them in the present day, and his frosted tips were long gone. In a video with the singer, Leer said American Idol changed her life. She was already in Nashville trying to do music, but the show skyrocketed her career. Leer also gave advice to future contestants. She told them that if they are thinking of auditioning, to definitely do it “because it could change your life.” “Just be yourself. Dive all the way in and have fun with it,” she said.

“Wowww the memories! 🥹 So grateful for American Juniors and Idol opening up doors for me! And Ryan, you’re just the best,” Leer commented on Seacrest’s post.

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Fans reacted to the throwback photo in the host’s comments. “Yaaaas, your frosted tips, Ryan!! 😂,” one wrote.

“Adorable photo Ryan of you with blonde hair! 👍👏😊,” wrote another.

Leer has released multiple singles and a cookbook. They can be found on her website. When she auditioned for Idol in 2020, another throwback photo of them on Juniors was shown, and Seacrest shrieked, “Oh my God! The hair.”

When Leer told the judges that she knew Seacrest from back then, Katy Perry asked if he looked the same. “Actually, yeah, which is kind of scary,” she said. Luke Bryan joked that that was Seacrest’s clone because the other one was in bed getting ready for his 4am radio show.

Seacrest has been the host of Idol since Season 1, and he also hosted American Juniors.

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