In a surprising turn of events on Monday's episode of American Idol, Katy Perry faced an unexpected reaction from the audience.
The 38-year-old judge received audible boos while offering her critique of contestant Nutsa's performance.
Nutsa, a talented 25-year-old singer hailing from Tbilisi, Georgia, delivered a lively rendition of Paris (Ooh La La) by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the Top 26 competition in Hawaii.
Praising Nutsa's stage presence, Katy remarked: "Every time you take the stage, it's like you glitter bomb the stage."
She continued: "I think one thing I personally would like to see from you is not one piece of glitter the next time. I know that's gonna be hard."
Her suggestion was met with loud boos from the audience, prompting fellow judge Lionel Richie to exclaim: "Whoa, hostility!"
Luke Bryan reveled in the situation, declaring: "Yes! Katy got booed. Katy got booed." Unfazed by the crowd's response, Katy elaborated on her critique.
"OK, first time in six seasons, woo hoo!" she joked before adding: "What I'm saying is that I'd like you to flip the script.
“I think we want to be pulled in by our hearts too. I'd love to see that, and I think America might too."
The pop star recently spoke with ET about the decision to have a Top 26 instead of the customary Top 24 this season.
The hitmaker explained the choice, saying: "More new talent is born every day, and it's 26 because we literally could not pare it down."
She continued: "We added two more because we were asking all the producers, 'Is this OK? Can we really do this? I know you guys have done this for 21 seasons, but we have really good talent. We can't send these people home.'"
This season of American Idol has certainly been a rollercoaster for Katy, with a few challenging moments along the way.
Earlier this month, 25-year-old contestant Sara Beth Liebe decided to leave the competition to be with her three young children, following a previous incident where Katy's "mom-shaming" comment during Sara's audition sparked controversy.
Sara easily passed her first audition, but later expressed her frustration in a TikTok video, reacting to Katy's joke that she had been "laying on the table too much."
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