When Liahona Olayan last took the “American Idol” stage, she got lectured by Katy Perry.
Olayan’s brother — the one who encouraged her to pursue music in the first place — had recently been eliminated. Moving forward in the competition without her sidekick was so hard that Olayan had been struggling to perform.
Perry told the 17-year-old singer she was acting “defeated” and “sabotaging” her chances of making it far in the competition, the Deseret News reported. But Olayan still ended up making it to the Showstopper round.
But to make it past that round and into the top 24, she had a lot to prove.
“What Katy said last round just made me more determined to remind her why she chose me in the first place,” Olayan said in a clip that aired before her Showstopper performance Monday night. “This performance, I’m just gonna give it my all and show her that, ‘Hey, I’m here, and I’m here to stay. Whatever you thought about last time, it’s not me. This is me.’”
And Olayan did step it up. Backed by a full band, the singer from Vineyard, Utah, brought an energetic performance of Meghan Trainor’s “Me Too” to the “Idol” stage Monday night. She danced across the stage with a smile on her face, and brought the song to a dynamic end by doing a split.
“There it is!” Perry screamed after the performance.
That was the reaction Olayan was going for.
“Seeing Katy stand up literally made me cry because I just wanted to make her proud,” the singer said during the episode.
And then it was time for the “Idol” judges to reveal Olayan’s fate.
“When I was laying it down the other day, I was upset,” Perry told Olayan. “I was really upset because if there’s a conversation in your head that says, ‘I’m not enough, I can’t compete with these big voices, I’m not good enough without my brother — that’s not real. And I think the sooner that you flip a switch in your mind, the sooner that all the doors open up for you.”
“Idol” judge Luke Bryan then officially welcomed Olayan into the top 24, adding that she has a lot of potential.
“We want the best for you because we feel like you have a lot to contribute to music,” he said.
“What can I say? I left it all out there on the floor and had the most fun I’ve ever had!” Olayan wrote on Twitter after the episode aired. “Thanks for all your support and make sure to keep tuning in to @AmericanIdol to see more of what I have in my pocket of tricks.”
Liahona Olayan performs during the Showstopper round of “American Idol.” The 17-year-old singer from Utah made it through to the show’s top 24 on Monday night.
ABC
What’s next on ‘American Idol’?
- Olayan will perform next week for the “American Idol” round where contestants perform duets with celebrities.
- Wyatt Pike, another singer from Utah, also made it through and will perform during the upcoming round.
- “American Idol” recently posted on Twitter that some of the celebrities featured in the round on April 4 and 5 include Josh Groban, Jewel, Ben Rector, Jason Aldean, Joss Stone, Ryan Tedder, Jimmie Allen, Brandon Boyd, Tori Kelly, Brian McKnight, Katharine McPhee and PJ Morton, the Deseret News reported.