'American Idol': Katy Perry Saves Contestant From Elimination After Covering One of Her Hit Songs
Following American Idol's first live show on Sunday, contestant Alyssa Raghu found herself on the edge of elimination without enough votes to guarantee a spot in the Top 10.
Which meant that the 17-year-old Idol hopeful had to pull off something big, splashy and amazing for her performance on Monday if she wanted to get a save.
So, she decided on a risky gamble and performed one of Katy Perry's own songs, "The One That Got Away," right in front of her -- and she nailed it!
Belting out a slower, more soulful rendition of the popular track, Raghu stunned Perry and her fellow judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, and earned tremendous praise from the Witness artist.
"First of all, how dare you!" Perry deadpanned. "How dare you come out and sing that song 100 times better than me."
Tears streamed down her face as Raghu shook her head, modestly refusing to accept the praise.
"Alyssa, that was so beautiful, and you have just grown into a gorgeous young woman," Perry shared. "I think that this has been a really important master class. It's like the second semester, and I think you've learned too much and you've got too much time."
"I think it's going to happen if you just keep applying yourself the way you've been doing," Perry added.
Meanwhile, one of the night's other fun highlights came when Walker Burroughs took the stage to deliver his version of the Jonas Brothers' "Lovebug," which ended up turning into an ice cream party between the judges, Burroughs and host Ryan Seacrest after it was revealed that the singer had moved on to the Top 10.
The season's Top 10 includes Burroughs, Madison VanDenburg, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Wade Cota, Laci Kaye Booth, Laine Hardy and Alejandro Aranda, as well as the night's saved singers -- Raghu, Uché (who was saved by Richie) and Dimitrius Graham (who was saved by Bryan).
For more on this wild, emotional season of American Idol, check out the video below.
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