Katy Perry awkwardly slapped herself on live TV after 'American Idol' audition took an unexpected turn
Elleigh Marie Francom from Utah came in emotionally charged for her 'American Idol' auditions in March 2024. The then 20-year-old had just received the news that her father would be deployed for a year. "Growing up as a military kid, it was pretty rough. My dad was gone a lot of the time,” she confessed in the audition clip. “So a lot of the responsibilities did fall on me," she added. The young cosmetologist admitted that it was her dream to perform on the talent show since childhood. Francom then serenaded the judges with a powerful rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s 'I Can’t Make You Love Me'. She received a standing ovation for her flawless singing and distinct soprano notes. "Nobody's ever hit that note at the end," Katy Perry reacted. "It was great," she continued and suddenly, very unexpectedly, slapped herself on the face and exclaimed, "I'm alive!"
Perry's impromptu response stunned Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, but they laughed it off together, “You started off somewhat average, and then you landed it in a space that was like, ‘Woah! Oh my gosh.’ If you sang from that space every time, we would be in like superstar territory,” Perry gushed further. Bryan was so taken aback that he uncannily predicted Francom would be a strong contender.“I think she’s top 10,” the 'Country Girl' hitmaker remarked. “Seriously. Just really beautiful things going on in your voice. It got really well done, really classy, really older than your years. I just loved it, loved it.”
“You went to a place that was so pure and so angelic,” Richie complimented. “And it was really one of those moments where we couldn’t keep our eyes off of you.” The Francoms then graced the stage and had an emotional interaction with the judges. Perry then presented the young cosmetologist with her claim to fame - the golden ticket, “It’s already so scary that after you do something like that, regardless of the outcome, it’s kind of nice to just know that I did it,” Francom told the Deseret News.
“‘Cause I mean, I tried when I was 16 and I literally never thought I would do that again until they offered it to me. I should have just done it without them offering it to me, just to do it. But it just kind of proved to me that just because you fail at something once doesn’t mean you can’t do it again.” Francom disclosed that she had attempted to enter the competition at the age of sixteen after passing a preliminary round through Zoom, but had failed to make the cut. Until a casting producer called her to give it another shot, she ended up being among the top 24 on 'American Idol'.
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Unfortunately, Francom's journey was cut short after her performance during the 'Hawaiian ' week, she earned the lowest number of votes despite giving a stunning rendition of CeeLo Green's 'Forget You'. However, she continues to perform as an artist in an attempt to grow her musical career.