Jenna Dewan Posts Hilarious Throwback Pic of Her as a Background Dancer for Kelly Clarkson
After just announcing a new dance show coming to Netflix, Jenna is continuing to show us her roots—most recently, with a funny and sweet throwback photo of her dancing as a backup singer for American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. The photo was taken after Kelly won the competition (2002) but potentially before Jenna starred in Step Up (2006).

After just announcing a new dance show coming to Netflix, dancer-actress-author Jenna Dewan is continuing to show us her roots—most recently, with a funny and sweet throwback photo of her dancing as a backup singer for American Idol winner (and now, of course, iconic singer) Kelly Clarkson. According to the Daily Mail, it looks as though the photo was taken after Kelly won the competition (2002) but potentially before Jenna starred in Step Up (2006). So this is a blast from the past that's about a decade and a half old at this point.
Jenna captioned the photo, "#tbt to dancing with @kellyclarkson at a Walmart parking lot in Texas...I will never forget quick changing in the break room amongst all the employees, and running through the aisles to make it back on stage in time 😂." I love these kind of unglamorous but super-fun details that Jenna often gives us.
The photo is also kind of perfect: The spectators milling around behind them, clearly unaware that they are witnessing poetry in motion. The super-bare stage with nothing but Kelly and the dancers, no lighting, no bells and whistles. Everyone's flare jeans and Kelly's insane (platform? wedge? flatform?) shoes. The early '00s were an interesting time for fashion, truly. The fact that both Kelly and Jenna are going to go on to great things, but are clearly putting in the work to get there.
Jenna continued, "To this day, Kelly is one of THE nicest and best i have met in this business ❤️" Considering that Kelly literally just had her appendix removed after hosting the 2019 Billboard Awards, I'm sure she appreciated the sweet shoutout.
Here's the original post:
A post shared by Jenna Dewan (@jennadewan)
A photo posted by on
Thank you to Jenna's stepdad for bringing this magical photo to my attention.
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Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.
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