Katy Perry shows off bold sense of style in quirky denim dress as she returns to American Idol

She’s known for her fun and quirky style credentials.

And Katy Perry knocked it out of the park once again, as she slipped into a double denim dress for Sunday night’s season premiere of American Idol.

The singer, 37, looked sensational in the blue number that cinched her in at her svelte waist and flared out.

She paired the outfit with brown leather boots and a pair of glitzy gold and silver hoop earrings.

Her blonde locks were swept back in an elegant updo, and she finished off her look with lashings of mascara and a swipe of pink lipstick.  

The season premiere saw Lionel Richie tell Taylor Fagins that his original song ‘We Need More’ about Black Lives Matter was powerful.

Taylor, 26, a songwriter from New York, was the last contestant during the two-hour season 20 premiere and told the judges that he would be singing his own work.  

‘This is for you,’ he whispered before he started performing on a white piano.

He opened with lyrics about Ahmaud Arbery who was murdered in Georgia in 2020 with lyrics such as ‘little black boys don’t run outside or play with water guns at night. They run away from red and white and blue lights.’ 

‘And little black boys don’t go to stores or use their pockets anymore,’ he sang. ‘Can someone tell them what they are living for. They want more.’

Taylor continued his BLM ballad singing about Breonna Taylor who was shot and killed in March 2020 by police in Louisville, Kentucky executing a search warrant after midnight at her apartment home.

‘Oh, Breonna Taylor. I bet your sleep felt so peaceful…. Oh, Breonna Taylor, your peace was ended by police burglars. Little black girls don’t close their eyes or walk the streets alone at night. They turn their cameras on when they see white.’

‘Can someone tell them what they are living for?’ Taylor continued. ‘They need more. They need more. They need more. We need more.  Little black boys and girls are scared. Their parents feel so unprepared. The world sees black no matter what you wear.’

When he was done, Lionel, 72, asked him how he felt.

‘I’m shaking,’ said Taylor.

‘Me too, that is pretty powerful,’ said Lionel, who returned as a judge for the fifth season on ABC since American Idol moved from its original network Fox.  

‘That’s very heavy. I wasn’t birthed until what was happening until the 60’s and those songs were there, too. What I’m emotional about is we need your song in 2022. How disgusting,’ Lionel said. ‘That was very powerful and I’m very proud of you.’

‘Thank you. That means a lot,’ said Taylor.

Country singer Luke Bryan, 45, also told Taylor ‘that was a really magical moment for me where I just took every ounce of it in’ and that ‘it was special.’ 

Katy said ‘activism comes in so many different forms and it seems that art has the most impact at the end of the day.’ Katy told him he should continue his process and that hopefully he will influence a better world.

Katy said they should vote. Lionel said he would go first and said he was very proud to ‘take an artist like yourself to actually be able to be free to express. My answer to get you started is a resounding absolute yes. Welcome aboard.’

‘Thank you,’ said Taylor.

‘Telling stories is what we are all in the business of and the greatest storyteller wins,’ said Katy, who also gave him a yes. Luke also gave him a yes.

‘Thank you so much,’ said Taylor. He then danced off stage and said, ‘It happened.’

He said that he wrote his song ‘We Need More’ in the middle of 2020 three days after George Floyd because he felt he had to say something.

Lionel told the other judges that Taylor was something special.

Taylor’s performance was one of many emotional moments during the season premiere.

The show opened with Noah Thompson, 19, a construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky. He said as a kid all he thought about was playing music and being famous. He said his family and friends believed in him, but that he had a hard time believing him himself. His friends signed him up to audition on the show.

Noah sang ‘Giving You Up’ by Kameron Marlowe. Luke asked him to sing the chorus again and to be a little bit more deliberate.

‘You got a real life storytelling bad a** voice,’ said Lionel. ‘I don’t know what you were expecting.’

Katy asked Noah to bring in his friend Arthur. Katy told him ‘you are the American dream.’ Arthur told the judges that his friend just had raw talent which was why he signed him up.

Luke gave him a yes. Katy said ‘thank you Arthur for seeing him better than he could see himself because I’m a yes, as well.’ Lionel said ‘angels come in very strange packages’ and that his friend Arthur was his angel and gave him a yes.

Noah then said to his friend ‘lets take this gold ticket home.’

Normandy, 29, from Baltimore, a gamer who spoke in a soft voice, said her dream was to be the next American Idol pop star. She wore all pink, a carrot purse and pink bunny crocs. She performed for the judges the song ‘Proud Mary’ by Tina Turner.

When she started singing in a completely different voice, Katy stormed out of her seat and said ‘I will not be set up.’

She came back in and sat down. Katy asked her if she would sing Adele which she did.

‘OMG,’ said Katy. Luke asked her if she would speak in a lower voice. He said she was ‘kind of amazing.’

Lionel said ‘enjoy the ride. It’s a yes.’

Katy and Luke also voted for her.

‘You are really going to surprise some people,’ said Katy.

Host Ryan Seacrest, 46, explained to contestants waiting to audition that there was a new platinum ticket available for grabs this season that would be given to the person who was the best from their city. Ryan said there were only three this season and winning one meant that the contestant could bypass the first Hollywood week.

The next contestant of the night was Nicolina, 18, from Toronto, Canada, a university student who for her audition sang ‘She Used To Be Mine’ by Sara Bareilles. When she finished, all the judges leapt to their feet.

‘I felt your whole life story in that song,’ said Katy. ‘It’s about connecting to the heart.’

Lionel said ‘girl that was just ridiculous. The journey of your voice is what’s so infectious. I’m a fan of yours.’

‘Yeah, you are amazing,’ said Luke.

All three judges gave her a yes.

During breaks, Katy facetimed with her one-year-old daughter Daisy. ‘Mama loves you,’ she said into the phone.

Then, Tyler Allen, 24, from Alabama came out next and said he was dedicating his audition to his nephew who passed away last April. He said his nephew Noah and mother died instantaneously when they were hit by a truck.

He said Noah was only one when he died and sang the song that he would usually sing to Noah for his audition

‘Putting them to rest was the hardest thing,’ Tyler said. ‘I’m going to see him again.’

Katy started tearing up. He performed a song by Whitney Houston ‘I Believe In You And Me.’ When he finished, Katy was crying and Luke said ‘Katy is an absolute wreck.’

Luke told Tyler that ‘you are checking a lot of amazing boxes for us.’

‘You are a star, check,’ said Lionel. He said to Katy that she had raccoon eyes with mascara running down her face. All three judges voted him on to Hollywood.

‘Give me a bathroom break,’ Katy said.

‘Katy needs to put the puzzle back together,’ said Luke.

Maddie Belle Glidewell, 19, a nursing student Glasgow, Kentucky, wore sparkly white cowboy boots for her audition. She brought her mother Tammy with her for support. Maddie told Luke that her mother wanted to wrangle him. Katy said she didn’t know what that meant. Maddie said if she let her mother in the door that she would know what she meant.

‘Go get her,’ said Katy.

Maddie ran off and got her mother Tammy.

‘I can’t believe he is real,’ said Tammy when she saw Luke.

Luke got up and hugged her. Maddie said to Katy that she was her idol and Katy hid under the desk. Luke asked her if she was hyped up on caffeine.

‘All I’ve been eating is southern breakfast food,’ said Maddie. ‘Eight pieces of bacon, two waffles…’

‘You said eight pieces of bacon?’ Katy asked, shocked.

Maddie sang for them ‘Redneck Woman’ by Gretchen Wilson. Katy told her she was country but that she loved it. Luke told her she gave them a great show but that her voice needs to catch up.

‘Your voice needs to grow,’ said Luke.

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‘Yeah, Maddie if the singing doesn’t work out I’ve got a TV show for you that is going to be amazing,’ said Lionel. The judges did not vote her on.

Camryn Champion, 16, a high school student from Lumberton, New Jersey, performed next and Katy told her that her singing was reserved.

‘You can keep the sweet stuff but I need meat and potatoes in the chorus,’ said Katy, who along with the other two judges voted Camryn on.

Lionel to the camera that the exciting part was helping the young talent polishing up their acts.

Danielle Finn, 17, a high school student from Los Angeles, tried out. Katy told her to try again and to take it up a key. She then turned to Luke and said she was deeply disturbed when she saw his paper and it said ‘no.’

‘That was so good,’ said Katy.

‘It just wasn’t exciting,’ said Luke,

‘What?’ screamed Katy and then knocked Luke’s paper to the ground. The judges gave her a yes and voted her through.

Danielle flew through the audition doors and screamed. Luke told her she might need to send her Katy flowers.

‘fr. Lionel asked her to tell them about her journey and she said that her grandmother was Aretha Franklin.

‘Stop right there,’ said Lionel.

Grace said she was really close to Aretha and got to see her all the time. She said she also used to travel with her. Lionel told her a story about when he met Aretha himself and thought they were going to talk about music.

Instead Aretha told him ‘Lionel, I’ve got some collard greens that I made.’

‘I don’t think I could fully grasp that she was known worldwide because to me she was always just grandma,’ said Grace

‘Is it true that she kept a little pistol in her purse,’ asked Katy but Grace said no but that she did keep her purse with all the time.

‘What’s in the purse?’ asked Katy.

‘The money,’ said Grace.

For her audition, Grace sang ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ by Lauryn Hill but Luke wasn’t impressed.

‘It was just all a little sleepy and subdued for me,’ said Luke.

Katy said ‘it was soft.’ She then asked if she had ever done anything this big and Grace said no. ‘This is a huge deal,’ said Katy.

‘I’ve been preparing for this my entire life so I think I’m ready,’ said Grace.

Katy told her she had the DNA and then asked if she had any other songs. Grace then performed a different song for the judges.

Katy said she loved the rendition of her grandmother’s song. Luke told her that her runs were ‘really great.’

‘I’m going to talk to you now as uncle Richie and your grandmother talking to me,’ said Lionel. ‘Her line was if you are not ready for me baby don’t come near me. Now you are 15. You got the family lineage. What we need to put in now is time and some work to get it up to par. Okay?’

Grace shook her head. Luke voted no.

‘Grace I think you have stardust and sparkly all over you,’ said Katy. ‘You are beautiful and if you will trust us, if you will listen to us and you will put in the work, I think we can find that next level with you. You are yes from me.’

Lionel said he loved her and thought ‘the best thing for you in life is to take a shot at going backwards.’ He told her to go back and get a running start and then come back to them again.

Katy stared at him and said ‘she’s got stardust, give her a shot, give her a chance. I’m sure Aretha wasn’t Aretha when she walked into the room but somebody said ‘yes, I want to work with you.’

‘She’s got stardust on her,’ said Katy.

Lionel got up and said ‘trust me’ and told her if she went back and put the shyness behind her and the voice in front of her that she would be ‘something amazing.’

‘I don’t want to be the one to make you tip over and fall at this infant stage,’ said Lionel.

Katy then got up and said ‘I quit this show. I’m going to the bar.’ She yelled ‘there is something wrong with your ears.’

Lionel came up there and told Grace that he didn’t want her to crash and burn.

‘It was going to be a no for him this time but an optimistic come back and see us,’ said Lionel. He then gave her a hug and told her that he loved her. She walked out of the audition and into her parents arms.

Later Katy talked about how their was a bromance happening on the show.

‘Yeah me and Orlando are slowly falling in love,’ said Luke.

‘He talks about you now in the car,’ said Katy. ‘It’s crazy. He is like Luke is such a good guy.’

They showed clips of Luke talking on the phone with Orlando Bloom and Orlando saying ‘sup bro?’ to Luke.

‘I haven’t heard from my fiancé all day but meanwhile he sends video messages with hearts in his eyes to Luke,’ said Katy.

‘Well Luke has let him borrow his bike,’ said Katy.

‘That’s what bro’s do,’ said Luke. He joked to Katy that she had lost Orlando forever to him.

HunterGirl , 23, a music therapist for veterans from Winchester, TN, performed a Rascal Flatts song Riot. All three judges got up and gave her a standing ovation. Luke took a victory lap around the room.

‘Hunter your voice cuts through,’ said Katy. ‘It is like a sharp knife. It’s just so nice to listen to.’

Luke said he wrote top ten on his piece of paper and told her she was like a ‘new age Miranda Lambert.’

‘That’s a huge compliment,’ said HunterGirl.

‘Wow,’ said Lionel.

All three judges got up and said ‘you are going to Hollywood.’ Luke handed it to her. She ran out screaming ‘I got the Golden Ticket!’

At the Nashville audition, Cole Hallman 22, from Manasquan, New Jersey, a soft shop associate who had just graduated from college brought his sister, who has a chromosome deletion, who was obsessed with him to the show.

‘She is definitely my number one fan,’ Cole said before he went out.

He sang ‘Lodi’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The judges applauded when he finished.

‘Interesting,’ said Luke. ‘I think you are an authentic voice and singing from the right place. You are not here to dance about a bunch of stuff. You just played the song and you sing it from the heart.’

Luke said ‘if you play the whole song with an out of tune guitar and Katy Perry doesn’t throw a penalty flag at you that means we are all into what you are doing.’

‘We may have a place for you in this competition,’ said Lionel.

Katy said ‘you can just hear your heart.’

Katy told him that they were going to give him their judgement and asked if he wanted to bring his mother and sister out with him. They walked in. His sister Katy ran in and hugged him. Cole then sang the Rolling Stones ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ with his sister.

Katy said ‘you were singing with your sister and you sang with total freedom and it was so good.’ Luke told him it was twenty percent better.

All the judges gave him a yes and told him he was going on to Hollywood.

‘He is such a sweetheart,’ said Katy, after he walked out.

Delaney Renee, 18 from Berkley, Massachusetts, who got her name as the Babysitter after she was videotaped singing while babysitting also auditioned. The video, which was posted on TikTok video, has received more than 18 million views. After the video came out, Idol contacted her.

She sang ‘Opportunity’ by Sia for her audition. When she was finished, Katy said ‘what is your hourly rate and do you do one-year-olds?’

‘Yes,’ she said.

Luke said there was still some youthfulness in her voice. Katy said ‘okay Delaney are you ready for your life to begin?’

The judges all voted her on to go to Hollywood. Delaney was so excited. She told Ryan that she didn’t know if she was ready, but he pointed to the golden ticket and said that means that she was ready.

Luke then said he wanted to Huntergirl and see if she would come to his country bar in Nashville and perform on stage. The judges then decided to show up and surprise her when she was at his bar called Luke’s 32 Bridge.

HunterGirl was shocked when they walked in. Luke, Katy and Lionel got on stage with her. Luke took the microphone and said ‘because it is the 20th year of American Idol. For 20 years you are supposed to have platinum, right?’

Katy then took the microphone and told HunterGirl that inside a guitar case she was handing her was ‘another ticket that only one person in the city gets during audition times. It’s the platinum ticket.’

‘No,’ screamed HunterGirl.

Katy said the ticket meant not only was she going to go to Hollywood, but that she gets one day to rest and ‘figure out how to become the next American Idol.’

Luke then got on stage and started singing ‘Lionel Richie shake it for me.’

American Idol will return next Sunday on ABC.

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