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Katy Perry stands up for a contestant who was 'Kanye'd' at a high school graduation in the newest episode of 'American Idol.'
Published on March 12, 2023
2 min readKaty Perry has proven many times that she isn’t afraid to say exactly what’s on her mind on American Idol. Earlier in season 21, the pop star spoke out against gun violence after a school shooting survivor shared their story. Now, she’s standing up for a contestant who was “Kanye’d” at a high school graduation. Check out Amara Valerio’s audition below and what Katy had to say to Amara’s bully.
‘American Idol’ contestant Amara Valerio reveals the story of when she was ‘Kanye’d’
American Idol shared an early look at Amara’s audition ahead of season 21 episode 3A. The 20-year-old singer from Yonkers, New York, revealed that she was asked to sing the national anthem at her high school for the senior class’s graduation. However, when she began to sing, one of the graduates interrupted her and said that she deserved to sing the national anthem.
Amara then showed video footage of the incident, which has gone viral on TikTok, to judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. The judges were shocked to see that this happened to Amara. Katy said that the girl “pulled a Kanye West” on Amara — a reference to the time Kanye West infamously interrupted Taylor Swift’s VMAs acceptance speech.
Before Idol, Amara shared the story on TikTok, revealing more details about what happened. She said she was a junior at the time. The other girl expressed interest in singing the national anthem, but “the administration told her no because shawty could not sing.” Nobody stopped the girl when she interrupted Amara’s performance — and Amara claimed that she sounded “absolutely awful.”
Katy Perry has a message for Amara’s bully on ‘American Idol’
After watching the footage, Luke asked for the girl’s name, but Amara wouldn’t share it. She began to sing an impressive cover of “Bust Your Windows” by Jazmine Sullivan as the judges tried to guess the name. When Amara finished her audition, she confirmed that the name started with an “S,” and Katy immediately guessed “Sara” correctly. The judge turned to the camera and shared a message for Sara.
“Listen, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. But Sara, you’re finished messing with our girl Amara,” she said.
And with that, the judges sent Amara to Hollywood. Fans then shared their support for Amara in the comments of the American Idol YouTube video.
“She should have [sung] the national anthem for her audition on NATIONAL TELEVISION for Sara/’Karen’ to watch,” one fan wrote.
“I bet Sara will be watching you on TV now. She has a beautiful voice when she opens up,” another user wrote.
Fans can see more ‘American Idol’ Season 21 auditions in episode 3A
American Idol fans can watch Amara’s full audition and more during season 21 episode 3A, which is set to air after the Oscars 2023 tonight, March 12. Additionally, the episode will be available to stream on Hulu on Monday.
New episodes of American Idol air on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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