She found fame in 2018 when she competed on The X Factor.
The bubbly makeup artist became an instant fan favourite and was also instantly recognisable with her incredibly deep fake tan.
Yet six years on from her stint on the British singing show, Scarlett Lee looked worlds away from her old self as she auditioned for American Idol.
The 26-year-old singer blew the American judges away as she belted out Emeli Sandé’s 2013 song Clown.
It went down well with the judges, especially Katy Perry who said it was one of her favourite sings, resulting in her, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie unanimously voting to send her through to the Hollywood stage of the contest.
X Factor star Scarlett Lee looked unrecognisable on Sunday’s episode of American Idol – six years after coming second in British competition
She found fame in 2018 when she competed on The X Factor and the bubbly makeup artist was instantly recognisable with her incredibly deep fake tan
Katy, 39, admitted she was hesitant when she heard the song choice, saying ‘Are we being pranked here,’ was her initial thought.
‘That is one of my favorite songs. It’s so vulnerable.
‘You’re fun and a little bit funky. Your personality is so big, and sometimes people don’t take you seriously. But when you sing a song and you sing a song like that, then you cut through all of the layers.
‘It doesn’t matter the makeup, it doesn’t matter the outfit. You become Scarlett Lee the artist. The possible next American Idol.
‘You become serious. So I’m taking you seriously. Your soul is shining through.’
Lionel, 74, added: ‘Oh, my goodness. You do know that your trip was worth it. It was so well executed. I really enjoyed what you did.’
Luke, 47, went on: ‘What I do love is you have a neat personality. You have a neat little aura and vibe going on.’
Scarlett is no stranger to talent shows, finishing second to Dalton Harris on The 15th series of The X Factor and reaching the Six Chair Challenge the year before.
She hasn’t given up on her dream of becoming a singer, last year teaming up with Katie Price to record new material.
Katie said during the TikTok live as she teased a snippet of her vocals: ‘You’ll know this song. We’re doing a cover version and then we will release it in two weeks.’
Scarlett looked worlds away from her old self as she auditioned for American Idol. The 26-year-old singer blew the American judges away as she belted out Emeli Sandé’s 2013 song Clown
It went down well, with judges Lionel Richie, Katy Berry and Luke Bryan unanimously voting to send her through to the Hollywood stage of the contest
Scarlett is no stranger to talent shows, finishing second to Dalton Harris on The 15th series of The X Factor and reaching the Six Chair Challenge the year before
Scarlett famously duetted with pop superstars Leona Lewis and Robbie Williams on The X Factor but her time in the ITV competition was full of drama as an almighty fire ripped through her family home.
She told Loose Women at the time: ‘My four-year old nephew woke me up telling me “mummy and daddy are burning.”
The singer suffered burns to her eyes in the blaze but continued to rehearse for the series regardless.
The year after her X Factor stint, Scarlett married childhood sweetheart Nathan Shaw in a lavish church ceremony in Epsom, Surrey.
The couple tied the knot in front of 350 guests including Love Island’s Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey.
The year after her X Factor stint, Scarlett married childhood sweetheart Nathan Shaw in a lavish church ceremony in Epsom, Surrey
