Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC
Katy Perryis celebrating the 21st season ofAmerican Idolwith an inside look into her own 21st birthday.
The musician — who has been a judge alongsideLionel RichieandLuke Bryansince 2018 — posted a photo from when she turned 21 on Instagram Sunday, sharing the highs and lows of her eventful birthday with fans.
“#idol is celebrating its 21st bday this year,” Perry, 38, wrote in the caption alongside athrowback photo. “When I turned 21 I rented a roller skating rink 🛼 and had McDonald’s 🫶🏼 ‘cater’ along w/ 2 kegs in the middle of the rink… and two friends broke bones but we had a lot of fun (so I was told idk I had just turned 21 🤸🏻♀️🍹).”
The competition’s 21st season, which premiered Feb. 19, is in the first audition rounds as the judges make their way across the country.
On Sunday’s episode, a 20-year-old from Los Angelescovered Richie’s “Hello”— a bold move to cover a judge’s song, he noted. The performance left the judges stunned.
“I was praying,” Richie, 73, said. “When people say they’re gonna sing your song — a Katy song, a Luke song, please don’t sing it like us. Own it. Take it and turn it into your song. You did it to perfection. I know who you are now as an artist. And yes it’s my song, yes I wrote it, yes I sang it but it’s your song.”
“As I said before, I’m from Santa Fe, Texas. In May 2018a gunman walked into my school.I was in art room one, and he shot up art room two before he made his way to art room one,” he said. “Lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed. Two teachers were killed. And uh, it’s just really been negative, man. Santa Fe’s had a bad rap here since 2018.”
Eric McCandless/ABC
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The tragic reveal immediately moved Perry, Bryan, 46, and Richie — with Perry burying her head in her hands as she began to cry.
“Our country has f—ing failed us,” she said, to which Louis responded, “Facts.”
“This is not OK,” Perry continued. “You should be singing here because you love music, not because you had to go through that [expletive]. You didn’t have to lose eight friends. I hope that you remind people that we have to change because you know what? I’m scared, too.”
“It’s terrible, Katy,” Louis agreed. “It’s horrible.”
Richie weighed in too, saying that as a country, “we have tolerated this for so long — for too long. It’s become a norm.”
After Louis agreed to lead change for “myself, for my school, for [Perry],” all three judges gave him a “yes” and a hug, and officially informed him he’d be headed to Hollywood.
American Idolairs Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
source: people.com
