Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie have helmed American Idol for six seasons now, and while their decisions are usually respected, fans may not always agree with their comments.
Fans of the trio and the show were left divided upon hearing the judges' feedback for 20-year-old Sierra Harris after her performance, which you can check out in the video below.
WATCH: Sierra Harris' American Idol audition
After the Massachusetts native delivered a rendition of "Barracuda" by Heart, she was asked by Katy to perform a bit of her own song, "Firework."
The resulting take was strong enough for Katy to jokingly throw her coffee cup at the stage and fake cry, wailing: "I take it back."
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However, while Sierra's vocals received acclaim, her more camp-oriented style did not, including performing with a bedazzled spoon, and the judges did not hold back.
"Sierra, get serious, you're doing all this [expletive], and you don't even care," Luke said, which even had the "Dark Horse" singer screaming.
© Photo: Getty ImagesFans could not agree with the judges' comments
She did clarify then that it sounded like the 20-year-old was "singing at karaoke," while providing her with the appropriate amount of praise for performing both of her songs very well.
"Some people have to be gimmicky because they can't sing," Lionel added. "You can sing, and you can sing well," with Katy declaring: "Your voice is not your party trick anymore. Your voice is your purpose."
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While they continued to chastise her for her over-the-top style, her raw talent and potential won them over and they gave her the golden ticket to Hollywood.
However, fans didn't see it the same, taking to social media to show their love for Sierra's audition, with several leaving scores of flame emojis in the comments section of her audition video.
Sierra did eventually nab herself a golden ticket
"Killed both songs like it was a walk in the park. Watch out for her when she gets pushed to her potential," one fan said, while another wrote: "Beautiful performance, Sierra Harris!" and a third even said she "stole Katy's thunder."
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