Contestant Loses 130 Pounds To Be Taken Seriously As A Singer Watch What Happens Next

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Matthew Honda is a contributing writer for Talent Recap. He's new to writing but certainly not new to binging television. If he's not sitting down to some reality TV, you might find him practicing some extreme sport, snapping photos, or shooting some pool.

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Competing on American Idol is not an easy thing to do for anyone. Pressure must be high while sitting among hundreds of other hopefuls in the holding area awaiting your audition. Let alone if you make it to Hollywood, the pressure only grows each step closer to the finale. For Lindita Halimi however, there was an added pressure. Fat-shamed as a teen, she felt she had to lose some weight to make it as a singer. And “some” sounds modest for the nearly 150 lbs. she managed to shed. 

Fed Up With The Fat-Shaming

Lindita Halimi had been singing in her native Kosovo before moving to the US in 2013. In Europe, she had already gained fame after winning the singing competition Top Fest in 2009. She was often praised and recognized as having a great voice, but the public would often comment on her weight. At one point Lindita’s 5’4″ frame reached a weight of 250 lbs. 

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Lindita didn’t mind her self-image until the weight began to present issues to her health. Then one day on the train, a woman mistook an 18-year-old Lindita for being pregnant and offered up her seat. This was the moment she decided to begin her weight loss journey. 

She began researching weight loss tips and changed her diet accordingly, salmon and eggs being the main staples. When she moved to the states she began working with a personal trainer, who is now her husband. Her hard work paid off and within a few years, Lindita lost a total of 130 pounds! 

She is now a personal trainer herself and hopes to help others on their weight loss journeys.

Inspiring Weight Loss, But Can She Sing?

Lindita had nailed her audition, singing “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown. The judges were not expecting a voice like hers to come from the now petite personal trainer. The judges gave her 3 yeses to advance to Hollywood but stirred up a bit of controversy. Misinterpreted compliments by J. Lo and Harry Connick Jr. riled up fans who recognized them as insensitive to the singer’s weight loss story. 

Lindita only went on to make it to the Top 25 of the fifteenth and “final” season of the competition. Not winning Idol doesn’t at all speak to her talent. She was already accomplished in Europe and had collaborated with people like Stevie Wonder and Valerie Simpson before ever auditioning. Coming off her loss, she went on to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest the following year, after winning their national Festivali i Kenges. 

Yet to release an album of her own, she continues to release original singles. If you want to hear her powerful voice check her out on Spotify and Apple Music. And if you ever need thinspiration or training tips, definitely go to her Instagram and TikTok.

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