American Idol is no stranger to bringing back former contestants, but viewers were surprised Sunday night when Alyssa Raghu returned five years after her previous stint.
Raghu understandably wanted the third time to be the charm and had taken several years away from the show to hone her talent following her second appearance in 2019.
In one of the show’s most shocking moments, Raghu was there to support her friend, Julia Davo, who was given similar critiques to come back when her voice had grown.
“I know you said that my voice was going to grow until it was 21,” Raghu recalled.
“You said that when I was, like, 15. Just for giggles, I’d love to sing you something.”
Perry was initially very excited about hearing how Raghu’s voice had changed, noting that it was “one last chance on the oval.”
Katy Perry wasn’t fond of the big return
Perry wasn’t impressed with the performance.
“I think this was a really weird plot twist,” she told Raghu.
“I think you could go in. Do I think you could win it? No, personally,” the proven hitmaker added.
“If you were going to go to Idol one more time, I want to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you could win.”
Fortunately for Raghu, Perry’s sentiments were not echoed by fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
The other judges disagreed with Katy Perry
“We have nothing to lose, and you have everything to gain,” Richie reasoned as Luke Bryan admitted that he liked having Raghu around.
“I like having you around. I’m going to give you a shot.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news for Davo, who was nixed from the competition at the audition stage.
But hey, maybe she’ll return years down the line like Raghu and get further into the completion.
Raghu reached the Top 50 of American Idol Season 16, but her journey concluded during Hollywood Week.
She returned one year later and made it to the Top 8.
Given her progression, it makes sense to conclude that Raghu will make it far in the competition this season.
Katy Perry is departing American Idol soon
Will Katy Perry be eating crow at the end of the season? We’re not so sure.
We know that Perry is preparing to depart the show at the end of its current season.
Perry hasn’t had the easiest time as a judge, with viewers hitting out at her continuous compliments that told people they would make it to the top 10.
More recently, she rubbed viewers the wrong way with her reaction to a contestant singing one of her songs.
American Idol airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.