The Stunning Hair Transformation Of Kellie Pickler

From her audition on the fifth season of "American Idol" at the age of 19 to her 2024 Patsy Cline tribute performance, North Carolina native Kellie Pickler has been in the spotlight for a long time. Despite not having tons of formal vocal performance experience, once she was discovered, Pickler truly burst onto the music scene. Not only did she captivate many with her strong vocal skills and her quirky charm, but she also served a lot of stunning looks, especially when it came to her hair.

Over the years, Pickler has tried a lot of different things with her locks, from the long, straight, razor-cut style she had on "American Idol," to a buzz cut she sported to support a friend, to the ultra-glam waves and curls that she's often worn to awards ceremonies. Whether you've followed her career because of her hit songs or because you love her bubbly Southern personality, Pickler's hair transformation isn't just fun to watch, it's also a great example of how to be super-versatile while still maintaining a strong sense of personal style.

In 2006, Kellie Pickler caught major attention as one of the finalists on Season 5 of "American Idol." Even the hard-to-impress judge Simon Cowell seemed to have a soft spot for Pickler, saying her liked her better than Carrie Underwood. While she may have only made it to the final six, many took note of her fun attitude, strong singing skills, and her adorable style. Along with her trendy outfits, her hairstyles played a significant role in her overall look.

On "American Idol,"  her long blond hair was often straight, showing off her layered razor cut with textured face-framing pieces and some side-swept bangs. Usually performing with her hair down, she sometimes pinned her bangs back in the ultra-popular-at-the-time millennial hair bump.

In a 2017 Yahoo! episode of "Timeless, Time Warp, or Time to Hide," Pickler looked back on some of her past styles, and had strong feelings about her hair from her "American Idol" audition. "My hair, ugh! I looked like a troll," she said. However, she did note that overall, she felt that her look was timeless. Despite her long hair truly suiting her, she switched things up later in the year and could be seen at an event in Los Angeles with a sleek haircut that hit just a couple of inches below the jaw.

In 2007, Kellie Pickler kept her career rolling and celebrated the success of hit songs like "I Wonder" and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" from her first album, "Small Town Girl." She was also showing off her amazing style at awards ceremonies, as well as her ever-changing (but always cute) hair looks.

At the American Music Awards, Pickler was absolutely rocking her new and trendy cut. Her short hair had a deep side part, creating an asymmetrical bob. The shorter side of her hair was straight, while the other side was full of voluminous, soft curls that framed her face. When it came to color, her blond hair looked lighter and brighter than ever.

And at the CMA Awards that year, Pickler was nominated for the Horizon Award, which she ended up losing to another rising country star, Taylor Swift. Before performing at the event, Pickler took a step outside of her comfort zone and instead of the usual sleek or wavy bob looks she usually went for, tried something completely different. Along with a gold ruched dress, Pickler wore a hairstyle that involved a braid that went around her head and teased ends that stuck up, creating a crown-like shape. Not only was the look attention-grabbing, but it highlighted Pickler's ability to take risks and display her personality with ease.

By 2008, Kellie Pickler was already releasing her second album, which was self-titled. Like her first album, this one had its share of hits, including a song called "Best Days of Your Life," which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift.

This year, she was also letting her hair grow out, and transitioning her bob to an on-trend lob. At the CMA music festival, Pickler gave a performance where her new hair look was on full display. With this lob look, the longer side just touched her shoulder, while the shorter one framed her face. Her straight hair was lightly layered with plenty of piecey texture to bring interest.

Later in the year at the CMA Awards, Pickler's hair seemed to have grown out even more, but this time she was styling it differently. While performing at the CMAs, she wore her hair in soft curls with plenty of volume.

In 2009, Kellie Pickler made plenty of appearances on red carpets and showed off a range of hairstyles, too. Although she often wore her hair down, at the CMT Awards, she rocked an elegant and breezy updo that pulled her lightly waved hair away from her face and introduced an added level of sophistication, along with her dark, bejeweled dress and large bracelet.

At the Academy of Country Music Awards, she was switching things up, and wore her shoulder-length hair down, highlighting her sleek, straight haircut. The gold and blond tones in her hair were matched perfectly with the gold tones in her dress, which made for a striking monochromatic style.  Pickler rocked a similar look at that year's New York Fashion Week, showing off her soft layers. 

Also in 2009, Pickler made one of her biggest and boldest changes ever by ditching her trademark blond hair for red tresses. Apparently, Pickler understood the advantages of having red hair. Speaking to Access Hollywood (via Just Jared), she said, "It's different. I wanted to try something new. We got a lot of blondes in country music, so I thought I'm gonna give Reba [McEntire] some company." She also described her hair as "kind of like autumn," and said, "I was actually in cosmetology. I haven't done this color, but I like it. It's different."

In 2010, Kellie Pickler was rocking a slightly shorter cut — and she was back to blond. At the "Dress to Kilt" charity fashion show in New York, her hair had gone from shoulder-length to a bob, and framed her face to perfection. Unlike her asymmetric cuts of the past, this one was the same length all around. However, she still opted for a deep side part and a thick swoop of bangs. This cut wasn't just cute in general, the blended bob was also a great look for a short hair summer.

By November of that year, though, at the CMA Awards, she was rocking a very different look. There, her hair appeared to be much longer and was styled in super thick and wide curls that grazed her shoulders. Her glamorous hairstyle wasn't the only thing she was showing off on the red carpet, though. In some of the pictures from that night, she was also flashing a gorgeous engagement ring, which had been given to her by her music producer fiancé, Kyle Jacobs.

The early 2010s were definitely a busy period for Kellie Pickler. In 2011, she exclusively released the title track of her next album, "100 Proof," which would go on to garner serious acclaim, even ranking as the number one country album of the year by Rolling Stone. Besides her musical talent, Pickler was getting noticed in other ways, too. People Magazine listed her as one of their most beautiful people that year and she had the distinction of being the only country singer to make the list. Her personal life was full of excitement, too, as this was the year she and Kyle Jacobs tied the knot, and Pickler wore her wedding hair in long, cascading curls.

During this period, the continued shift in her hairstyles was still noticeable. At the CMAs, she seemed to stick with the shoulder-length locks and full, voluminous styles. Unlike the large rounded curls she wore the year before, her hair this year had a much more crimped, beachy vibe. Along with plenty of volume, multiple tones of blond were visible, as well as some added dimension with darker roots beginning to peek through. Paired with a silver dress, it's clear that Pickler knew the best color to wear with blond hair in any season.

In 2012, Kellie Pickler was sporting a dramatically different look — for reasons that went way beyond fashion. When Pickler found out that her childhood best friend had breast cancer and would have to undergo chemotherapy, she decided to support her. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres (via Sounds Like Nashville), she said, "When Summer was diagnosed with breast cancer back in June we made a pact that we'd shave our heads together. I think it's important to have a cancer buddy." 

She also mentioned that the act of shaving their heads was a little nerve-wracking, saying, "I will be honest with you, I was a little nervous and she was too. [We thought], 'I hope we don't have some crazy birthmark or wart or mole or something ... but we had fun." While this look might have been new for Pickler, she looked completely glamorous, feminine, and confident. Not only was she styling her transitioning cut like a pro, but she didn't seem to need any info for growing out her buzz cut, either.

Kellie Pickler achieved new heights in her career in 2013 by dropping another album, "The Woman I Am," and appearing in the dance competition, "Dancing With the Stars." Along with proving she had what it took to learn to ballroom dance like a pro, she even ended up winning the competition that year, along with her partner Derek Hough. Not only was she busting out a lot of different moves on the dance floor, but she was also wearing tons of different costumes and hairstyles, too. While on the ballroom floor, she could be seen in everything from short, simply styled hair to long, flowing curls.

As her hair grew out from her buzz cut from the previous year, Pickler was playing around with her styling. At a Maxim "Hot 100" party that year, she had a sleek, short-cropped haircut which she parted to the side, and some of her bangs came down to frame her face, creating a more sophisticated look. At the ACAs that year, her hair looked longer, and she was wearing her locks in one of her go-to styles over the years — soft, side-parted curls that fell just below her chin.

Throughout the mid-2010s, Kellie Pickler was busy with her hit documentary/comedy series, "I Love Kellie Pickler" on CMT and was also having plenty of fun with her hair, the evidence of which she often displayed on her Instagram. In a post from April 2014, she shared a picture of herself and her husband where she rocked one of her most reliable looks, soft waves and curls with a side part.

By April 2015, though, she was changing things up. In a post with the caption, "Just a small town girl chasing dreams in the Big Apple..." she could be seen with her shoulder-length hair straight and lightly styled in a way that complemented her polished outfit. Just a little later in the month, she was really trying something new. In a vacation selfie, she could be seen in a braided look, not unlike the y2k baby braids trend that's spiking nostalgia. Rocking some fun green and pink beads, Pickler added the caption, "Met this sweet Bahamian lady on the beach this morning...she called me her "blonde baby" & braided my hair...#BahamaMama."

During the later part of the 2010s, Kellie Pickler was getting even more playful and inventive when it came to her hairstyles. This may have had something to do with the fact that she was taking on daytime TV with her own talk show, "Pickler and Ben," which she hosted along with journalist Ben Aaron. Being on camera so much naturally meant trying out more hairstyles. Top knots and high buns that were polished but ever so slightly messy became stand-by styles for her. Another typical daytime look was letting her long, center-parted hair flow in some loose, soft waves.

On Pickler's Instagram from this period, we can get even more glimpses of the hairstyles she liked the best. In a post celebrating her and her husband's anniversary, Pickler is beaming with some large, bouncy curls and a deep side part.

By 2020, the pandemic made performing difficult, but that didn't mean that Kellie Pickler wasn't keeping busy. In an interview with Popculture, Pickler opened up about how she was spending her time. "I've just been able to take the time for me and be with my husband and garden and finish all these, like, house projects we've been doing, and paint," she said. "I think I've painted about every room in the house now."

In 2022, though, she was stepping out again. After spending time out of the spotlight, Pickler made an appearance at the CMA Fest with a totally new hair look. Unlike some of her more glam and super-styled looks of the past, she was letting her hair hang loose in a way that looked truly natural and free. With her blond hair seeming to have some light wavy texture, it seems that Pickler found a great long layered hairstyle to freshen her look and show a new, more relaxed side of herself. Later that year she also performed for at Camp Zama on Veteran's Day, where she was again sporting some ultra-long hair. This time, however, it was silky straight and parted in the center, which gave off a retro and bohemian vibe.

In 2023, Kellie Pickler faced a personal tragedy. The unexpected passing of her husband meant taking some time for herself. In a statement to People, she said, "One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of a crisis, if you don't know what to do, 'do nothing, just be still.' I have chosen to heed his advice."

A little over a year later, though, Pickler was ready to perform again. Despite some nerves, she was putting herself out there to sing at the "Walkin' After Midnight" Patsy Cline tribute in Nashville. On stage, she acknowledged the support she received from fans and how much it meant for her to be there. Despite any nerves or emotional difficulties surrounding the event, Pickler looked amazing, including her hair. Her ultra-light hair fell just below shoulder length, and her soft side-parted curls were all pulled to one side, creating an ultra-polished look. Not only did her hair coordinate with her glittery two-tone dress to make a truly sophisticated style, but it was also a departure from the more laid-back looks she'd been sporting in recent years.