Nearly five years after she landed in the Top 8 on American Idol, Alyssa Raghu is now facing backlash for allegedly stealing the audition from her best friend at the time.
During the latest American Idol audition episode, a contestant, Julia Davo introduced herself to judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, as “America’s Next Female Rock Star.” She performed David Bowie’s Life on Mars? but didn’t attract much attention from the judges.
As she continued to chat with the judges, the American Idol contestant revealed that her “best friend,” Alyssa Raghu, auditioned for the show in 2018 and competed in 2019. Davo then stated Raghu was waiting outside the audition room.
After Davos was rejected from continuing on, Raghu hugged the judges. “I know you said my voice was going to grow until it was 21,” Raghu said. “And you said that when I was 15. But just for giggles, I’d love to sing you something.”
Raghu then sang Mariah Carey’s My All. After singing the song, Perry told the contestant she did grow, but when Davos continued to say she wanted to compete in the latest season of American Idol, Perry had some thoughts.
“Wait, what are you telling me?” the Firework hitmaker asked. “Are you telling me you want to audition for this season, like six years later?”
Raghu responded with, “I know it’s in your hands, but it’s like why not?”
Perry described the whole situation as being a “really weird plot twist,” but doesn’t think Raghu could win. However, Bryan and Richie decide to move Davos forward.
Perry responded to the situation by getting up and walking out. “I’ve gotta go,” she added. Alyssa Raghu then hugged her friend and declared she “deserved” to be on American Idol this season.
Former ‘American Idol’ Star Alyssa Raghu is Criticized on Instagram
Just after she made it through the next round on American Idol, Alyssa Raghu took to Instagram to celebrate the exciting news.
“Definitely a bittersweet moment,” Raghu captioned the post, which featured pics of the audition. “What they didn’t show was me constantly begging Julia to come on the show with me, but unfortunately, the judges said no.”
“Being able to grow up on this show is something so special to my heart, I want to thank the [American Idol] family for teaching me so much throughout the years and showcasing me at my realest moments.”
She also thanked Davos for her friendship and incredible memories. However, the comment section didn’t go in her favor. “Don’t expect America to support sis,” one person wrote. “Whether it was edited bad or not, you stole her moment and belittled her.”
Another person then wrote, “Honestly, regardless of how this was planned out, it doesn’t look well. If someone I knew burst into my audition and got a yes in MY audition, I would feel some type of way.”
“Judges shouldn’t have let that happen. Audition like a regular person, as everyone else did. If it wasn’t supposed to be viewed like this (in the world’s opinion), well, the executives sure made this look shady and sad.”
Others did acknowledge that Perry knew how wrong the decision was. “I cannot believe what I just watched. Katy knew.”