Watch Claudia Conway Stun Katy Perry With “Transformation” During Latest American Idol Performance

It’s a whole new Claudia Conway during her latest American Idol performance.

The 16-year-old contestant took the stage for the ABC singing competition series’ Sunday, March 21 episode, marking her first performance since auditioning on the Feb. 14 season premiere. The TikTok star’s parents are Kellyanne Conway, who served as senior counselor to former president Donald Trump, and George Conway, an attorney who worked against Trump. 

“I’m Claudia Conway, I’m back!” Claudia told the judges as she prepared to sing during Hollywood Week.

She clearly looked much different, as her formerly blonde hair had been dyed black since her audition. This led Katy Perry to exclaim, “I’m sorry, excuse me, what?!” 

Claudia laughed and said, “Yes! Little change.” Katy replied, “You mean a transformation.” At that, Claudia agreed and said, “A transformation.”

The contestant then explained to the camera that she was dealing with serious doubts in her initial audition, during which Katy had interrupted her performance of Rihanna‘s “Love on the Brain” and asked her to try a different song. Luckily, Claudia shifted to Adele‘s “When We Were Young,” and it was enough to get her to Hollywood Week.