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‘American Idol’ star reflects on the one-word moment with Katy Perry that still gets fans talking

"It's hard to believe I wasn't out of the closet when I said 'wig' to Katy Perry, but I wasn't," Noah Davis shared.

Nearly seven years ago, an 'American Idol' contestant named Noah Davis went viral after his interaction with judge Katy Perry. Davis auditioned for the ABC dance competition during its sixteenth season in 2018. Before his audition, Davis introduced himself to the esteemed judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Perry by saying, "Hi, my name is Noah Davis. I'm from Royal, Arkansas, and I'm 18 years old." Soon after, Davis uttered a popular pop-culture phrase, and it was none other than 'Wig,' to which Perry replied, "Wig? Did you just say wig?"

When Davis confirmed it by nodding his head, Perry exclaimed, "I know, wig. I feel that already." At that point in time, Richie and Bryan had no clue what was going on, and they asked Perry, "What is Wig?" In her response, the 'Harleys in Hawaii' hitmaker went on to say, "No, it's not your language. It's just for us. Wig." Then, Davis interrupted Perry mid-sentence and quipped, "We're on... we're here, we're here together." Following that, Perry told David, "I love you," to which the latter replied by saying, "I love you."

Then, the fans couldn't stop talking about Davis and Perry's conversation over a wig. One social media user rushed to the comments section of the video and penned, "Love how wig lovers across the world can unite and fall in love over one word." Followed by a second user who wrote, "I love this feel-good moment so much I can't stop watching the love." Another netizen went on to say, "Wig, okay, wig, did you just say wig? I know, wig, I feel that already, wig." A user commented, "Katy Perry is acting like it's exclusively theirs too, so same difference except black people actually created the slang." 

Earlier this month, Davis sat down for a conversation with People magazine and reflected on his 'American Idol' audition, including his one-word response to Perry. "I don't remember saying that because those days are so long. It takes forever, and you're so tired. I came out of the audition, and all I knew was I made it through. I saw the video for the first time before it aired, and I thought, 'Oh, my God, that's so funny,' " Davis told the media outlet.

Davis made it through Hollywood but failed to move ahead on the singing show, facing elimination after the contestants were narrowed down from 50 to 24. In the same interview, Davis shared how he has changed and evolved as an individual in the last couple of years. "I'm very different. I don't think I was a fully realized Noah Davis. I was 18 and had just come from nowhere in Arkansas. I had never done anything like that, and I hadn't realized my full potential. I was shy back then, and I've come out since then. It's hard to believe I wasn't out of the closet when I said 'wig' to Katy Perry, but I wasn't," Davis added. 

Following his stint on 'American Idol,' Davis made a bold move. Then, Davis packed all of his stuff into his car and moved to Los Angeles with "no money" and "not a lot of friends." Subsequently, Davis started making music and began sharing his journey on TikTok. Over time, Davis built a big fan following on TikTok. In 2021, Davis released his debut album titled 'F**k Flowers.' Later, he dropped his EP, 'The A Side,' in 2023. Now, Davis is ready to release his other album this summer.