Katy Perry used her new gig on American Idol to throw shade at bitter rival Taylor Swift.
As the new judges went through their latest round of auditions, Luke Bryan asked one of the hopefuls who he looked up to as an artist.
‘I’m sorry for this Katy – Taylor Swift,’ the hopeful said, acknowledging the two stars’ feud but with Katy, 33, insisting: ‘You don’t have to be sorry.’
‘I love her as a songwriter’: Katy Perry used her new gig on American Idol to throw shade at bitter rival Taylor Swift on the Sunday episode
Rivals: A contestant admitted he was a fan of Taylor Swift while auditioning in front of Perry (Taylor pictured in 2017)
However when he repeated ‘I love Taylor Swift!’ Katy could not hide her smile as she made a dig at her former friend’s personality, merely saying: ‘I love her as a songwriter as well.’
The latest round of auditions saw Katy repeatedly flirting with contestants and goofing around – putting a Whoopee Cushion under Lionel Richie’s chair and joining Luke in putting on a black wig and mustache to look like the soul legend.
But there were also emotional moments, none more so than when the judges invited a man with Down Syndrome who was there supporting his best friend to sing too — with his favorite song being Katy’s own hit Firework.
Maddie Zahm, 19, said becoming best friends with Marcus had changed her life and gave her back the confidence she lost after gaining 100 pounds in high school because of hormone imbalances.
Back at it! The latest round of auditions saw Katy repeatedly flirting with contestants and goofing around – putting a Whoopee Cushion under Lionel Richie’s chair and joining Luke in putting on a black wig and mustache to look like the soul legend
Best of friends! Maddie Zahm, 19, said becoming best friends with Marcus had changed her life and gave her back the confidence she lost after gaining 100 pounds in high school because of hormone imbalances
After hearing her story, the judges brought out Marcus – wearing a t-shirt reading ‘My best friend is the next American Idol’ – and let him sit with them as Maddie auditioned.
After her version of Dua Lipa’s New Rules, they then got Marcus to join her – with him remembering sections of Katy’s Firework as Maddie sang it.
‘You’re an incredible woman,’ a clearly moved Katy told Maddie, praising her ‘set of pipes.’
Front row seat! After hearing her story, the judges brought out Marcus – wearing a t-shirt reading ‘My best friend is the next American Idol’ – and let him sit with them as Maddie auditioned
Aww! After her version of Dua Lipa’s New Rules, they then got Marcus to join her – with him remembering sections of Katy’s Firework as Maddie sang it
‘I really do think you’ve got great potential,’ Lionel Richie agreed, with them posing for selfies with Maddie and Marcus after sending her to the next round in Hollywood.
Earlier, Maddie had talked about how her weight loss, saying: ‘I lost my confidence, I lost my friends – I even lost music there for a while.’
But she recalled meeting Marcus, saying: ‘I accidentally walked into a music class with kids with disabilities. That was the best mistake I ever made because there was this incredible human being standing up singing a Katy Perry song.
Honest: Katy also got tearful after hearing Ricky Manning, 22, sing his original song LA is Lonely about how tough it is to make it in the business
‘It’s just changed my life. I have the confidence now to do the things I love.
‘Today I am auditioning for both of us.’
Katy also got tearful after hearing Ricky Manning, 22, sing his original song LA is Lonely about how tough it is to make it in the business.
‘I felt very lost’: Katy admitted she could relate to Ricky’s message in his song, LA is Lonely
‘I related to it so much I moved here when I was 17 and it was grinding and it felt very lonely at times, and I felt very lost,’ Katy said, her voice cracking with emotion as she called him an ‘exceptional songwriter.’
‘I hear my own story in that song and that’s what great songwriting does,’ she added.
Lionel agreed, telling him: ‘As a songwriter speaking to a songwriter — you’re a songwriter.’
Brave: Katy also dabbed tears from her eyes when Crystal Alicia, 20, sang Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down as a message to the bullies who had left her almost suicidal
‘Blowing my mind right now,’ Ricky told them, calling his three yeses ‘the best day of my life.’
Katy also dabbed tears from her eyes when Crystal Alicia, 20, sang Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down as a message to the bullies who had left her almost suicidal.
She recalled how she was bullied about her weight growing up and told, ‘You’re not good enough for this world.’
‘They’ll see that I’m making it’: Alicia addressed her naysayers in her audition
‘You keep hearing these things and you believe it after a while,’ she said. ‘Self-harming is how I coped with my anger and sadness and depression. I felt I had nothing to live for anymore. This is my chance to show those people that the did not stop me. They’ll see that I’m making it and finally doing something for myself.’
After dabbing away tears, Katy praised her ‘fantastic personality,’ ‘it factor,’ and ‘presence,’ and said: ‘I really think you’ve got something very special. Crystal, I think you’re a little star. I would totally follow you on Instagram.’
Crystal said the song was for her boyfriend, Simon, who supported her, but flintily told Luke when he joked he thought it was about him: ‘Well it can be about you.’
Celebrate! Crystal rejoiced after receiving the coveted ticket to Hollywood
Hugs: Katy later teased Luke for having a tear in his eye, too, as Johnny White, 18, got a hug from the vocal coach who changed his life
Katy had earlier joked that Luke just ‘smells like farts.’
They brought out Simon at the end, with Luke joking they should find a chapel there and get married, then asking Katy if she remembered young love.
‘I don’t remember young anything, honestly,’ Katy quipped.
Katy later teased Luke for having a tear in his eye, too, as Johnny White, 18, got a hug from the vocal coach who changed his life.
Personal: The hopeful recalled getting adopted at seven because his mom was on drugs and his dad in jail
The hopeful recalled getting adopted at seven because his mom was on drugs and his dad in jail, saying his teacher Ms Finley finally made him ‘believe in myself.’
‘She is the reason the I am here on American Idol,’ he said, with her calling him ‘that one special student that you know has got it. And Johnny has got it.’
Lionel said he put almost too much emotion in his version of It’s a Man’s World, telling the 18-year-old: ‘You’ve got to make love to her but you’ve got to have a little foreplay before you do it.’
‘Lionel, will you tell us about foreplay?’ Katy teased him, before telling Johnny: ‘I think you’re top 10 material.’
Rough beginnings: Les Greene, 27, also had a tough upbringing, being almost homeless when his mom moved him to her native Guyana after she split from Les’s dad in Baltimore
‘You’re just full speed ahead’: After his version of the Sam Cooke classic A Change is Gonna Come, Luke called him ‘a Ferrari’
His teacher came out to hug him, leaving Johnny in tears, with Luke having told him: ‘You are so inspiring. Your story and your big old voice.’
Les Greene, 27, also had a tough upbringing, being almost homeless when his mom moved him to her native Guyana after she split from Les’s dad in Baltimore.
‘I remember selling my toys so we’d have money to eat,’ he recalled. ‘Whatever I was missing in life, music took care of.’
After his version of the Sam Cooke classic A Change is Gonna Come, Luke called him ‘a Ferrari’ and said: ‘You’re raw, you’re rugged, you’re just full speed ahead and I love that. Let’s polish you up a little bit but I am a big yes.’
Looks familiar! Katy Perry had already flirted constantly with hunk 6ft 5ins college student Jonny Brenns, 18, telling him he had ‘a face like Chet Baker, very good looking’
Teasing him! With Jonny blushing bright red, the other judges teased Katy for ‘flirting,’ with her only adding to it as she told him he had a ‘sweet little sexy thing that you’ve got going on’
The superstar judges also got to stun the parents of a teenager who had not told them he was even auditioning for the show.
Katy Perry had already flirted constantly with hunk 6ft 5ins college student Jonny Brenns, 18, telling him he had ‘a face like Chet Baker, very good looking.’
With Jonny blushing bright red, the other judges teased Katy for ‘flirting,’ with her only adding to it as she told him he had a ‘sweet little sexy thing that you’ve got going on.’
Shock factor: But the biggest shock came for the teen’s parents when Katy insist they call them to break the news he was going to Hollywood
Next up! Tyler ‘Cougar’ Gordon was inspected by Lionel Richie
But the biggest shock came for the teen’s parents when Katy insist they call them to break the news he was going to Hollywood, with his mom saying when Katy said who she was on the phone: ‘Well, it’s obviously not.’
‘It is and your son has something to tell you,’ Katy insisted, before Lionel took the phone and started singing Hello to convince her they were real.
‘Hello… do you know who I am?’ he told her, with her in clear shock at the realization.
Katy had also been flirty with Tyler ‘Cougar’ Gordon, 25, calling him a ‘cool guy’ and with him telling them as he failed to get through: ‘I’ll leave you my number Katy.’
‘I’ll leave you my number Katy’: Gordon flirty with Katy as he told the super star he would leave her his digits
Wow factor: The judges were perhaps most impressed with the daughter of a music icon, the late Jack Hammer who wrote classic like Great Balls of Fire and Yakety Yak
Candid: Amelia Hammer Harris, 26, only met her dad for the first time when she was 16, taking years to get over the anger she felt and only connecting properly before he died
‘Then I would be Cougar, too,’ she said.
The judges were perhaps most impressed with the daughter of a music icon, the late Jack Hammer who wrote classic like Great Balls of Fire and Yakety Yak.
But Amelia Hammer Harris, 26, only met her dad for the first time when she was 16, taking years to get over the anger she felt and only connecting properly before he died.
‘I feel really connected to my father right now,’ she said. ‘I feel him. I feel like I’m making him proud. I’m just trying to carry on the legacy.’
I’m just trying to carry on the legacy’: Amelia remembered her father during her audition
Impressed! After her version of the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, Katy told her: ‘I’m surprised your still here and not a major artist already’
After her version of the Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter, Katy told her: ‘I’m surprised your still here and not a major artist already. You have a presence, a style, a unique sound and you’re beautiful. I would like to say that this is top 10 material right now.
‘It’s time to put pause on everything else and hone into winning American Idol.’
They were also huge fans of twins Julian and Milo Sposato, 17, who were joined by their dad on guitar as they sang Bruno Mars while also playing trumpet and saxophone.
Oh brother! They were also huge fans of twins Julian and Milo Sposato, 17, who were joined by their dad on guitar as they sang Bruno Mars while also playing trumpet and saxophone
They’re fans! Katy raved about the twin brothers, ‘That was dope’
As they left with three yeses, Luke told them: ‘Start wrapping your head about being big stars.’
When property administrative manager Effie Passero, 26, finished her original song at the piano, Lionel joking went up to her to look ‘for an extra volume knob’ on her back because she was so powerful.
‘I believe you’re a presence, I believe you’re a look, I believe you have a whole thing going on,’ Luke told her, saying her voice was ‘like a command.’
Packing a punch! When property administrative manager Effie Passero, 26, finished her original song at the piano, Lionel joking went up to her to look ‘for an extra volume knob’ on her back because she was so powerful
Knocking it out of the park: Luke raved about Effie’s performance, ‘I believe you’re a presence’
Katy added: ‘Today we’ve been looking for this voice. The was exceptional. I can’t wait to spend more time with you.’
Nanny Shannon O’Hara, 17, wants to help her family after her dad lost his job six months – putting them at risk of losing their home.
‘All of the music I have written has been at this home,’ she said before her audition.
‘You can be a major threat,’ Lionel told her as they all voted yes after her performance of Adele’s When We Were Young alone at the piano.
Tough: Nanny Shannon O’Hara, 17, wants to help her family after her dad lost his job six months – putting them at risk of losing their home
Home is where the heart is: ‘All of the music I have written has been at this home,’ she said before her audition
‘You’re gonna give people a run for their money,’ Katy agreed.
Country singer Caleb Lee Hutchinson, 18, did an impression of Luke before his audition, joking that he ‘might do it a little bit better’ than the star himself.
He admitted his parents were more excited about the audition than him, with his dad William saying after news he was going through: ‘My heart’s about to explode right now!’
Watch out! Country singer Caleb Lee Hutchinson, 18, did an impression of Luke before his audition, joking that he ‘might do it a little bit better’ than the star himself
Support system! He admitted his parents were more excited about the audition than him
All three judges got up to dance as cowgirl Kristyn Harris, 23, sang I Want to be a Cowboy Sweetheart with some yodeling.
‘You’ve got to understand that yodeling isn’t going to bring in the masses,’ Luke warned her, while Katy gave a no, saying: ‘I don’t think it’s American Idol stuff… but I think it’s something beautiful you should really hold on to.’
But Lionel and Luke both gave her yeses after some hesitation, sending her through with Luke telling her: ‘I want to see you have fun in Hollywood.’
Dance party! All three judges got up to dance as cowgirl Kristyn Harris, 23, sang I Want to be a Cowboy Sweetheart with some yodeling
She’s in! But Lionel and Luke both gave her yeses after some hesitation, sending her through with Luke telling her: ‘I want to see you have fun in Hollywood’