Justin Guarini Says American Idol Was ‘Extremely Damaging’ [Video]

Justin Guarini was second-place to Kelly Clarkson on the very first season of American Idol, and his life has apparently sucked ever since (or possibly ever since From Justin to Kelly).

On Sunday’s episode of Where Are They Now on OWN, Guarini reveals that he fell into a deep depression after Idol. His first solo album didn’t do as well as Clarkson’s and that movie the two of them were in was, in a word, terrible. Seriously, it’s considered one of the worst films ever made.

So while everything on the outside looked to be on the up-and-up, things were pretty grim for the young singer.

Per Guarini:

“American Idol did wonders for my career, but it was also extremely damaging for my life. Nobody knew that because I put on a happy face and went out and met the world. But it was a time where I dealt with horrible depression and the realization that I was not living the dream that I thought I was living. I filmed From Justin to Kelly which was my first film experience ever — (an) unbelievable experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world. But the film comes out and doesn’t do very well. It was trashed in the reviews.”

He also added that his debut album didn’t do very well because he was being pushed into a mold and the end result was “inauthentic.”

“So when my CD came out after the abysmal film, it sold maybe 150,000 units, which is pathetic,” he said.

Guarini does still work, though. He’ll be returning to Broadway in September to do a re-imagined Romeo & Juliet with Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad.

[Image: Shutterstock]