Canada’s Heather Russell is getting another chance to become a pop star.
The 20-year-old from Toronto got a golden ticket after auditioning for judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan on an episode of American Idol that aired Sunday night.
Russell was briefly signed to former Idol judge Simon Cowell’s label after being discovered on YouTube. She later released an EP, Phases. “I didn’t really like it, to be honest,” she told Medium.
In 2018, Russell released her debut album My Metropolis, which included the single “This Ain’t The End.” It came with a video shot in Niagara Falls, Ont.
Russell’s Idol audition, which was taped last November at California’s Ojai Valley Inn, was a version of Perry’s 2020 single “Harleys in Hawaii” that was full of vocal gymnastics.
“You are all frosting right now, honey. It’s way, way too much,” Perry said. “As fun and frosting as that sounded, it felt dead inside.”
Bryan advised Russell to “be careful about all the tricks” and Richie told her: “I’m not a fan of runs, runs and more runs.”
All three judges, though, loved Russell’s voice and voted in favour of advancing her to the next round of competition.
B.C. singer Lauren Spencer Smith, who last season became the first Canadian to make it to the Top 20 on American Idol, commented on Russell’s Instagram: “I know you boutta crush it.”
Watch Heather Russell on American Idol below: