American Idol: Katy Perry consoles sobbing Hunter Metts after he forgets lyrics on Oscars episode

Katy Perry consoled weeping contestant Hunter Metts after he forgot the lyrics to a song on Sunday’s Oscars episode of American Idol.

She watched in dismay as Hunter, a 22-year-old software developer from Franklin, Tennessee, flubbed a line of the Oscar-winning song Falling Slowly from 2006’s Once.

The nervous contestant, who’d practiced in front of a bank of mirrors to try to get his confidence up before the show, descended into a flood of tears.

He was so overcome by his brief mistake that he turned away from the crowd in disappointment and shook his head as the show’s live audience gave him a standing ovation.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Hunter cried, his face red with embarrassment.

Katy, 36, yelled his name to try to get his attention and tell him it was okay.

‘Hunter!’ she called out. ‘That was the best performance you have ever given.’

The young man seemed unable to listen or calm down, so she continued.

‘No, no, no, no, no, no. Hunter, Hunter. Perfection is an illusion. It doesn’t matter. That shows that you are human. And vulnerable! And everybody relates to that. And it’s amazing. It’s emotion. That’s what music is. And I know this is a lot of pressure, but it’s not about perfection. It’s about resonating with people. And you just did,’ she told him.

Kindly, Katy added, ‘You were so connected that you forgot where you were, and this is perfect.’

Luke Bryan, 44, was back on the show after making an incredibly rapid recovery from coronavirus, which kept him from taping last week,

He told Hunter, ‘It was intense for me to watch you do that. It was a series of emotions and you took me on a crazy ride, man. And I don’t even know what happened at the end, but listen: I didn’t care. You did no wrong. You could do no wrong in that moment.’

Lionel Richie, 71, reminded Hunter that throughout his career, he’d had people say, ”Oh my God, Lionel. I was there the night you forgot the lyrics to Hello.” And the crowd loved it!’

Asked by show host Ryan Seacrest, 46, what was going through his mind, Hunter said, ‘I just wish I didn’t mess up.’

Ryan pointed out that the song, by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, was emotional, especially as Hunter’s girlfriend was cheering him on from home.

Looking at the screen, Ryan spotted recent Idol contestant Graham DeFranco, 27, from Rockwell, Texas, side-by-side with Hunter’s family, which put Hunter in a much better mood.

It was a challenging night for all 12 of the remaining Idol contestants, who felt the pressure of singing Oscar-nominated songs as live viewer voting whittled them down to the Top Nine.

Those who stayed learned that they had won a trip to Disneyland in Orlando, Florida.

Hunter made it through, and wept again as he left the stage at show’s end.

High-schooler Ava August, 15, from Laguna Niguel, California, did not advance, after a possibly too-mature performance of City Of Stars from 2016’s La La Land.

Also going home was hair model Madison Watkins, 26, from Fayetteville, Arkansas, who pulled out the stops on Whitney Houston’s Run To You from 1992’s The Bodyguard.

Wedding singer Beane, 23, from Brighton, Massachusetts, left after his jaunty rendition of Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley’s (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, from 1987’s Dirty Dancing.

Lionel opened the show singing Say You Say Me, his Oscar-winning song from the 1985 film White Nights.

He and his fellow judges then entered the room on a floor lit red to resemble a red carpet.

The first contestant to sing was Grace Kinstler, 20, a college student from Lakewood, Illinois, who unveiled a sexy, spirited cover of Pharrell Williams’ Happy, from 2013’s Despicable Me 2.

‘I mean, you can sing the telephone book,’ Katy told Grace afterward. ‘Who are you as an artist? You can sing anything—but what are you going to say?’

Ava went next, earning praise from Lionel for her incredibly seasoned performance but making Katy confess, ‘I wanna see you also be 15.’

Caleb Kennedy, 16, a high school student from Roebuck, South Carolina, charmed the judges with his take on Willie Nelson’s On The Road Again, from 1980’s Honeysuckle Road.

Before he went on, Caleb told show mentor Bobby Bones, 41, that he wore hats because he was insecure about a droopy eye he’d had from birth.

Bobby said he’d been born with four percent vision, and challenged Caleb to drop the hat if he made it past this week.

Caleb finally let loose onstage, telling the crowd, ‘Let me hear y’all, c’mon!’ as everybody danced.

Katy told the teen he had ‘authentic grit’ and urged him not to worry about his eye.

‘I have a wonk eye as well, and I used to be worried about it,’ she revealed. ‘Then a bunch of my fans created a fandom over my wonk-eye. I even have a fandom that calls itself, ”Katy’s wonk-eye.” It’s my right eye. So just celebrate all that stuff. Don’t worry about it.’

Madison was next with what Katy called ‘an A-level performance’ of Run To You.

Chayce Beckham, 24, a heavy machinery operator from Apple Valley, California, laid down gravel on Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do (I Do It For You) from 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

In rehearsals, Chayce told Bobby he related to the song because a year ago he’d gotten into a terrible drunken car accident, and music had saved his life.

His performance was hit-or-miss, but Luke called him ‘the front-runner in this thing,’

Beane put a jazzy spin on (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life, and Katy said music was ‘in his blood.’

Alyssa Wray, 19, a college student from Perryville, Kentucky, belted out This Is Me from 2017’s The Greatest Showman—a song she admired for its emphasis on self-esteem.

Lionel applauded the way Alyssa restrained herself before embracing the song’s higher notes.

Deshawn Goncalves, 20, a college student from Cleveland, sang Barbra Streisand’s The Way We Were from the 1973 film of the same name.

‘That was absolutely beautiful; it was classic,’ Luke said. ‘It felt like I was in some time capsule of a time I want to go back to and stay that forever.’

DeShawn said that season two Idol winner Ruben Studdard, 42, had called to tell him to ‘live in the moment.’

Casey Bishop, 16, a high-schooler from Estero, Florida, sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow from 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, the first movie she’d ever seen.

‘Yes! You can do anything you want!’ Katy told the teen rocker after her pretty performance, turning to Luke to say, ‘I think maybe she’s the front-runner.’

Cassandra Coleman, 24, from Columbia, Tennessee, sang a powerful version of Sam Smith’s Writing’s On The Wall from the 2015 James Bond film Spectre.

She’d just quit working as a coffee-shop manager to pursue her dream, and made a social-media plea to those who’d critiqued her last performance, noting that words hurt.

Lionel admired the poise Cassandra showed onstage, suggesting he was one of his favorites.

‘When you went into that cry, it was some of the most amazing stuff I’ve heard on this show,’ he said, agreeing that last week’s performance was not her best, but she had real fans.

‘Never forget that you are not what the world thinks of you,’ Katy told Cassandra. ‘You are what you think of you.’

Cassandra recounted having a fan jump out of their car near Los Angeles’ The Grove to tell her that he had been ‘manifesting’ seeing her and wanted to tell her to let things flow organically.

‘Security!’ Katy called as Ryan wondered whether the man had been driving around waiting.

Willie Spence, 21, a caretaker from Douglas, Georgia, closed the show with Cynthia Erivo’s Stand Up, from 2019’s Harriet, and had a call from Cynthia herself, who thanked him for spreading joy.

Lionel had just three things to say to Willie: ‘Amen,’ ‘Religious experience,’ and ‘You delivered.’

Katy praised Willie for channeling the emotion of the week in song.

‘That cuts through that darkness,’ she said, her voice breaking.

‘Willie, you taught me never to use the word ‘front runner’ again until the whole show is done,’ Luke cracked.

American Idol will return Monday on ABC.

Source: DailyMail