'American Idol 2021': Claudia Conway's 'transformation' leaves Katy Perry stunned; watch

American singer-songwriter Katy Perry, who is currently serving as one of the judges in American Idol 2021, was left stunned after seeing the transformation of a 16-year-old contestant, named Claudia Conway. Interestingly, Claudia took the stage for the ABC singing competition series on Sunday, March 21 episode, marking her first performance since auditioning on the February 14 season premiere. However, her appearance left Katy surprised. 

Claudia stuns Katy with her transformation

Interestingly, the 16-year-old contestant looked much different, as her formerly blonde hair had been dyed black since her audition. And, this led Katy Perry to exclaim, "I'm sorry, excuse me, what?!". Later, the Tik-Tok star laughed and said, "Yes! Little change". To which the singer replied, "You mean a transformation".  And, on that Claudia agreed and said, "A transformation". 

As the episode progressed further, while facing the camera, the contestant explained that she was dealing with serious doubts in her initial audition during which Katy had interrupted her performance of Rihanna's Love on the Brain and asked her to try a different song. Claudia further added that she shifted to Adele's When We Were Young, and it was enough to get her to Hollywood Week.

Claudia asserted, "She (Katy Perry) believed in me, and I could not be more grateful for that. Now I'm just drowning it all out and telling myself that I can do it. I've been trying to establish my own identity for a while. You know, most people don't know that I'm into music. Most people don't know that I'm a singer, and it is very, very important to me. I'm literally freaking out, but I'm going to keep it cool, you know? But I'm freaking out, I'm all over the place. But I'm cool".

 

Claudia Conway's American Idol performance

As the episode progressed further, the teen performed a rendition of Bishop Briggs' River. Meanwhile, her mother, Kellyanne, could be seen watching her daughter from the audience. After her performance, it was revealed that she had made it to the next round of American Idol 2021. Hours after her big moment, Claudia shared a post on Instagram, in which she wrote, "I am just as shocked as all of you!!". 

(Promo image courtesy: Katy Perry & Claudia Conway IG)