Katy Perry asked an 'American Idol' contestant to sing her hit song and instantly regretted it
Sierra Harris confidently strutted into the 'American Idol' auditions with a ladle for a microphone and yet impressed the judges to earn a golden ticket. "Oh, here we are. Why are you holding a spoon?" Luke Bryan quizzed. Harris explained it was part of her outfit, like a TV prop, and then went on to serenade the judges with her powerful rendition of Heart's 'Barracuda'. However, Katy Perry wanted to test Harris's vocals, so she asked her to sing another song. The judges remained stunned when the Massachusetts native sang a flawless version of Perry's hit song 'Fireworks'. Perry was left gaping as Harris was able to perfectly sync the high notes and tone control.
Perry had earlier complimented the 20-year-old's rock chic vibe, "She looks the part, let's do it, I like the rock stuff all right!" "Wow, it's okay Katy, it's okay honey, it's okay," both Lionel Richie and Bryan tried to console Perry after Harris delivered a power-packed version of her song. "Look, I wanted you to sing Firework because that's a challenging song to say absolutely, and you slayed that I have to squeeze both of my butt cheeks together so hard," Perry reacted. "Some people have to be gimmicky because they can't sing right damn it you can sing and you can sing well," Richie pointed out.
Perry explained that her first song sounded like a karaoke bar performance, "Your voice is not your party trick anymore, right? Okay, your voice is your purpose," she said, calling out Harris' choice of getting a kitchen ladle to the show. "You know, going back, dialing it back to the 80s and recreating that, it doesn't work, you've got to determine what you want to be okay," Bryan advised on choosing songs relevant to the current time and age. "Just put a fork in the spoon for Hollywood," Perry said in jest before announcing their joint decision to send Harris to Hollywood. Sadly, Harris' journey on 'American Idol' was cut short; she couldn't make it past the Hollywood Week. The young artist announced it with a lengthy Instagram post.
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Calling herself "beyond blessed," she wrote, "Unfortunately, I did not make it past Hollywood week in my idol journey." "This is only the beginning for me… stay tuned to see more of me and my musical career," she added toward the end. Harris released a new single the same year, 'Not Ok' is available on all major streaming platforms. She exclusively told MassLive that he future goals included going on tour and making more music. While appearing on 'The Daniel Taylor Show' last year, Harris recalled the wild moment Perry requested her to sing her song.
The Massachusetts native explained that even though she grew up listening to Perry's songs, her first choice for the audition was according to her singing style. She felt betrayed that the judges did not understand that. "So she asked me to sing her song, and not like I knew her song obviously, but in the moment, like I don't remember almost a single thing I said," she said. Harris continues to grow her musical career with live events and gigs.