Latter-day Saint Liahona Olayan received some tough feedback from Katy Perry during the duet episode of American Idol. Perry said Liahona’s disappointment over her brother leaving the show was “sabotaging” Liahona’s own chance for success. But this week, Perry had a very different message.
As Liahona walked off the stage following this week’s performance, Perry stood up and cheered yelling, “There it is! There it is!”
“Seeing Katy stand up literally almost made me want to cry because, you know, I just wanted to make her proud,” Liahona said.
Afterward, Liahona sat down with judges Katy Perry and Luke Bryan to discuss her performance and learn if she would be moving forward in the competition.
“There’s a conversation in your head that says, ‘I’m not enough. I can’t compete with these big voices, I’m not good enough without my brother’—that’s not real,” Perry told Liahona. “And the sooner that you flip the switch in your mind, the sooner that all the doors open up for you. Because you came out here [this week] and you laid it down.”
And then Bryan delivered the good news:
“We see a lot in you, and we want the best for you,” he said. “We want the best for you because we feel like you have a lot to contribute to music. And guess what? You are in our top 24.”
In her excitement, Liahona jumped out her seat and yelled, “Let’s go!”
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