The 44-year-old 'American Idol' alum recalls in a new interview what the Emmy-winning actress told her when she found herself being inundated by fans at a restaurant.
- Jul 19, 2022
AceShowbiz - Melinda Doolittle says Nicole Kidman advised her to hire security. Finding herself being inundated by fans at a restaurant, the 44-year-old singer, who finished in third place on "American Idol" back in 2007, was surprised to see that the Hollywood actress was being left in peace at a nearby table.
"Nobody was talking to Nicole," she recalled. "I had a line at my table and I was like, 'I do not understand, Nicole Kidman is right there.' [When I got up] , Nicole was like, 'Hey, honey, we're so proud of you! We watched you on the show. And I just want to tell you to invest in security.' "
The "I'm a Woman" songstress claimed that Nicole went on to explain to her that her fans are only familiar with her as an actress and could not really relate to her but because Melinda had found fame on a reality singing competition, she was "one of them" and therefore garnered a lot of attention.
She told Insider, "[Nicole said] 'For me, people have just seen me on screen, so they don't relate to me in that way. But for you, you're one of them. And so, they feel just fine walking up to your dinner table and not letting you eat. So, you need to have someone with you, so you can eat.' I hired security and it was the best advice anyone has ever given me."
Melinda, who finished on "American Idol" behind Blake Lewis and eventual winner Jordin Sparks, described her time on the sixth season of the show as "insane" as she came to terms with losing her anonymity.
"We could not go anywhere without security. The show was so big that you could not walk more than 10 feet without getting stopped or people wanting pictures and wanting to talk to you," she added. "I don't know how to put into words how insane it really felt. Like just trying to go in public and realizing at some point, your brain realizes, 'Oh, this is my life.' "
