“American Idol” auditions are on a roll, and this week brought a slew of new talent to the competition.
During Sunday night’s episode, one auditioner made an impression not only with her voice but also with her striking resemblance to “Idol” judge Katy Perry.
“Oh my gosh, I get it all the time,” Hannah Everhart, 17, said before her audition. “Every time I go get my hair done, ‘Wow, she looks like Katy Perry.’ Maybe it’s the eyeballs, cause we both got blue ones and they’re big. I never exactly saw little ol’ me getting to do something like this, you know?”
But Everhart is no California girl. The high school student hails from Canton, Mississippi, a town where she says “everybody knows everybody.” The teen added she recently flew on a plane for the first time.
When she entered the audition room, the resemblance was not lost on Perry.
“Are you the country version of me?” the pop star asked. “Were we separated at birth?”
Everhart sang Johnny Cash’s “Wayfaring Stranger.” Afterward, the teen confessed she originally planned to audition with Etta James’ “At Last” but decided to “just play it safe” instead.
Of course, that prompted the judges to request “At Last.”
As Everhart crooned the blues classic, Perry provided encouragement, telling the teen to unclasp her hands and “out-sing me.”
The performance clearly impressed the judges, who all voted to send Everhart to Hollywood. Before she left, Perry imparted words of wisdom to her young doppelgänger.
“You have an attitude problem… and I like it,” the “Firework” singer said with a smile. “But you are no longer allowed to ‘play it safe.’ You better start rolling the dice on your life.”
Everhart wasn’t the only standout performer. Casey Bishop, a 15-year-old from Estero, Florida, also wowed the judges, even though she confessed most of her singing experience has come from belting into a hairbrush.
“I have no experience performing,” she said. “The only places I sing are literally my bathroom. I put my song on, pick up my brush and then I just go for it. In the mirror, I just literally pretend I’m on stage.”
The high schooler sang “Live Wire” by Mötley Crüe, followed by a haunting rendition of popular jazz standard “My Funny Valentine.”
Her audition earned a comparison to a past “Idol” superstar, Alejandro Aranda. After Aranda’s audition in 2019, Perry declared he was going to win the show. It was a close guess – Aranda was the runner-up.
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Luke Bryan made the same prediction about Bishop.
“Kacey, I didn’t think anybody would get close to Alejandro’s audition, as far as me being just, like, dipped in Disney and sparkles and flowers and doves, and that’s what your audition was for me,” he said. “I think she’s the damn winner of ‘American Idol.’ Period.”
The judges were unanimous in sending Bishop to Hollywood, where she’ll be joined by 21-year-old caretaker Willie Spence, 24-year-old coffee shop manager Cassandra Coleman and 24-year-old heavy machinery operator Chayce Beckham, among other standouts.
Auditions continue next Sunday (8 EST/PST).
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