'American Idol' singer ticked off Katy Perry with a bizarre song — but still scored a golden ticket
Erika Perry had only one agenda on mind when she walked into the 'American Idol' audition in 2021. The high school student wanted to take revenge on her ex-boyfriend by proving her "worth." However, her dream was momentarily dashed when she pissed off Katy Perry with her gibberish tone and quirky attitude. "Well, I'm like an alien. I'm extraterrestrial. You know what I mean? You know what I mean?" Erika glided into the room with her guitar, teasing Katy by crooning her hit number. "Tell me about why you're here," the 'Dark Horse' hitmaker cut in, visibly unamused. "Well, right before I auditioned, my ex dumped me because he said I had no drive and no motivation. And so I'm here to prove him, all his friends and family, and all the haters in school, because growing up, kids just always judged me for being eccentric and weird and for being skinny and having big eyes, which is like a really weird thing," Erika ranted.
"Okay, okay. Time is the essence, Erika Perry, not related to me," Katy sarcastically interrupted her sob story. "You never know, my dad could have donated some sperm," the Orange County native countered in jest, immediately annoying Katy. "Well, there we go. And there's the end of the show. Thank you very much," Lionel Richie reacted. "She said the sperm word," Luke Bryan noted. "Let's move on. Alright, what are you going to sing for us?" Katy remarked, trying to ignore the commotion. "I'm going to sing E.T. by my girl, Katy," Erika mockingly replied. She started to sing Katy's hit track when she was stopped mid-way by the queen herself. "Is this a different language? Is it English?" Bryan looked up, confused after Katy stopped the wild performance.
"Is this a style or is this a gimmick? Are you following me?" Richie reacted to the inaudible tone. "She's probably never been given one constructive criticism in her life. Wait. Now, I'd like to hear 30 seconds more. No gimmicks," Katy then asked Erika to take a pause and let go of her heels before trying out once again. However, the session turned hilarious with the young artist mouthing the words, making it hard for the judges to comprehend the lyrics. Throughout the recital, Katy kept interrupting, "Slow down. Say all the words. Don't cut the words off. Enunciate the words." "I think you're freaky. I think you're weird. I think you're a little bit annoying," was all Katy could say after the 30-second performance.
However, the judges found Erika likeable because of her ability to face her insecurities and decided to give her the big chance by saying 'yes' to the golden ticket. Toward the end, Katy encouraged her to leave a message for her ex-boyfriend on the camera. "What's his name? Stefan? Go get your golden ticket. Go up the wall. You are going to look right in this camera, and you're going to tell him whatever you want to say to him, and then at the end, show him your ticket," the 'Roar' singer prodded.
"Um, hey, Stefan," Erika began by looking into the mounted camera. "You said I had no drive, no motivation. I was going nowhere in life, but...Hi, I'm going to Hollywood. Yes!" she gushed. Unfortunately, Erika couldn't go past Hollywood Week because of her gibberish tone. She had a complete meltdown on stage when the judges announced her elimination. She kept asking the judges, "Are you sure?" before walking off the stage dejected.