Warning! The following contains spoilers for the American Idol Season 18 episode, "Auditions Part 4." Read at your own risk.
It's common to hear people say a popular musician's song helped them get over a bad breakup, but it's quite another thing entirely for a pop star to literally play a part in someone's future breakup. However uncommon that may be, that's the story that was shared by American Idol contestant Ren Patrick when she took the stage for her audition. Katy Perry inspired Patrick to leave a toxic relationship, and it came from an actual face-to-face encounter.
While Katy Perry did not recall the prior circumstances, the American Idol audition was not the first time she met Ren Patrick. The two had a chance meeting at a Hollywood party seven years prior, where Perry was around to witness a squabble between Patrick and her boyfriend. After the tense exchange, Perry dropped a nugget of wisdom on the future Idol contestant. According to Patrick:
We were having a pretty nasty argument, and you walked by and you were like 'Ew, girl dump him.' I was so embarrassed I barely told anyone, honestly. It took me seven years, but I took your advice.
Katy Perry did indeed play a big part in the breakup, though Ren Patrick admitted the toxic relationship went much longer than it needed to. Patrick was isolated from her family during those years, and was even forced to screen calls from her mother out of fear of angering her boyfriend. Now, all this time later, her mother was the one who drove Patrick to her American Idol audition, which ended with the judges sending her to Hollywood.
It was a mostly happy full-circle story that, as is customary for American Idol, elicited quite an emotional response from Katy Perry. The always appreciative pop star took to social media during the episode, and though she was still hazy on the details of the event, Perry was happy she was able to help in whatever way she could.
Ren Patrick's story made for great television, but it's her voice that people will keep tuning in to American Idol to hear. She certainly has one of the stronger voices in the competition, but we're already reaching a point in the season where that can easily be said for about 30 other people. Once again, the ABC series is raking in an astonishing amount of singing talent, which could mean great things for the elimination-filled Hollywood rounds going forward. It could also mean fans are in for some real disappointment, because some of these hopefuls are bound to go home before the live shows start up.
American Idol airs on ABC Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to stick with CinemaBlend throughout the competition for more updates on Season 18, and for a look at what's happening on other shows airing in 2020.
