Montell Jordan Reflects on 'Joyful Time' Making 'This Is How We Do It' Almost 25 Years Ago (Exclusive)
The singer also praised the dancers who dressed up as Katy Perry to support his performance.
As he gears up for the 25th anniversary of his smash single “This Is How We Do It” in February, Montell Jordan is looking back at recording the song and the powerful impact it had.
ET caught up with the musician after Sunday’s grand finale of American Idol, where he performed the GRAMMY-nominated track.
“I think ‘This Is How We Do It’ just hit people right at a time that it [became] a soundtrack to people's lives,” he said when asked why the song has resonated for so many years. “It was a good time, it was a joyful time and to be able to have [been] a part of people's soundtrack -- it’s an honor and I’m glad that I could be a part of that tonight.”
“What energy!” he added about the audience’s response to his performance. “A song that’s 20-something years old that still ignites America and ignites an audience like that ... I'm honored to be a part of tonight.”
Jordan had the crowd and judges singing along during his performance on the series, which will return for a new season on ABC in 2020.
As he replaced lyrics like “South Central does it like nobody does,” with “American Idol does it like nobody does,” Katy Perry enthusiastically danced along.
Of course, the “Waking Up in Vegas” singer had more reason than most to give the performance her full attention -- after all, it featured seven Perry lookalikes as background dancers!
Jordan said he thought the performers were spot-on in emulating the pop star.
“I thought Katy was going to do it, but I think she duplicated herself and did an excellent job because those girls were awesome,” he said. “It was a good night.”
“Katy Perry's kick worm is now timeless,” he added about Perry’s “meme-able” moment pulling worm moves during an audition episode of the Idol. “I think it definitely goes down in meme history. But the girls did a really good job though.”
One of the performance’s background dancers, Anjula Kelly, took to Instagram to share photos of the fun experience. “My job is never dull! Fun time dressing up as @katyperry and performing on the @americanidol grand finale with @mrjordan1911,” she wrote. “Also, I’ve [never] done the worm on live television before haha ... There’s a first for everything right?!”
Meanwhile, Idol winner Laine Hardy told ET he was "still processing" beating fellow finalists Alejandro Aranda and Madison VanDenburg to take the season.
"I'm still processing, it but it's been a crazy night," he said backstage.
See more on American Idol below.
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