Colbie Caillat Was Rejected From ‘American Idol’ After Playing Her Hit Song ‘Bubbly’

One of the best promotional tools for up-and-coming new voices has been contests like American Idol and The Voice. Those that get to the final stages have choices and chances individuals who didn’t make it through auditions have. Colbie Caillat and other current stars learned that being rejected by the TV shows doesn’t mean it’s the end for them.

Colbie Caillat’s country music career

With the help of the social media platform Myspace, Caillat rose to the top of the unsigned country music singer and songwriters. Once she was discovered, Caillat signed with Universal Republic Records and released her very first album “Coco” in July of 2007.

Her road to fame was not an easy one as she hit road bumps that led to rejections before her Myspace profile became popular.

Caillat faced rejection not once, but twice

After years spent in voice, guitar, and piano lessons, Caillat decided to audition for American Idol during the time it was running on FOX. According to Country Now, Caillat was overlooked in the preliminaries the first time she tried. However, that did not deter her from getting up the courage to try again. This time she made it to the judges and performed her own song “Bubbly.”

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the singer-songwriter recalled the experience, “I was shy. I was nervous. I didn’t look the greatest. I wasn’t ready for it yet. I was glad, when I auditioned, that they said no.”

Despite the dual rejection Caillat continued to write and sing for her social media fans until she was signed for her first album. “Bubbly” was one of the first of her songs to make it to the album, even though the American Idol judges had rejected her after singing it.

Caillat isn’t the only singer-songwriter to face TV’s rejection signs. Now famous country Mmusic stars Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Colton Swon, Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown, Hillary Scott, and Chris Lane were all rejected from the famous TV shows to search for their big breaks elsewhere.  

The success of ‘Bubbly,’ the award-winning rejected song

Caillat’s first single “Bubbly” was written by Caillat and Jason Reeves and describes the feeling of loving someone so much that just their presence produces a smile. Even though American Idol rejected the song and writer, country music fans adored the catchy tune.

“Bubbly” is the only song from her writing career that managed to make it into the top 10 of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and internationally hit the number one spot in Australia, Brazil, and the Czech Republic. Europe also loved her tune as it hit the top 10 on the charts in Belgium, Germany, and Norway.

Country music star Caillat wins more awards

The Recording Academy Grammy Awards records that Caillat has been nominated for five Grammys, of which she won two. Caillat won both Album of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals in 2010. Caillat continues to be popular with over six million sold albums.

Caillat will continue to write and sing, and we are sure to see more awards in the future. As she said, “Songwriting is like a therapy. It’s a connection that you have with another person, and I’m not scared of it at all for some reason.”

As Caillat continues her journey through the country music industry, she is sure to collect more accolades and awards making her rejected start into a beacon of hope for all who aspire to follow in her footsteps.