Claudia Conway revealed that she wanted her voice to be heard during her audition for American Idol . The 16-year-old hopeful is the daughter of former President Donald Trump’s advisor Kellyanne Conway and her husband, Lincoln Project founder George Conway.
She stood before judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan and explained who her famous family was. The trio expressed collective surprise before they asked what brought Claudia to the Idol stage.
Claudia admitted that for most of her life, her feelings had been suppressed. Upon finding fame on the social media sharing site TikTok, where she has over 1 million followers, Claudia felt that her voice was finally being heard. She quickly learned the internet could be a dark place. After a series of social media videos went viral where the teen spoke poorly about her parents and made allegations of abuse, she decided to rise above the drama.
Claudia told the panel that when life appeared to head downhill, she always had music. She claimed she had always loved to sing and called music a “pillar” in her life.
During her audition, both Kellyanne and George were in attendance. George accompanied his daughter while Kellyanne was seen via video chat. Claudia admitted she has an “iffy” relationship with her parents. She said she loved them, was open to compromise and agreed to disagree with them.
Claudia did not actively seek her Idol moment. Producers reportedly reached out to her after seeing a video on TikTok where she showed off her vocal chops.
She also denied rumors that her inclusion in the series was a publicity stunt.
She wore a gray-and-white strapless handkerchief top and a pair of leather pants. Claudia pulled her blond tresses up into a high ponytail and accessorized with two necklaces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3L_ezsLKkc
She sang her version of Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain.” The teen was stopped by Katy midway through her performance. She was given stellar advice by the pop superstar who told Claudia if she sang like she was only interested in reading social media comments posted after her performance, she would only be a TikTok star.
Given another chance, the teen attempted Adele’s “When We Were Young.”
Luke Bryan did not believe the teen was ready to be on American Idol . He was outvoted by both Katy and Lionel who decided to give Claudia a chance. They awarded her a golden ticket to the Hollywood portion of the audition process.