The Voice is great, but no other talent competition has a better, more hilarious audition process than American Idol. The classic singing competition gave the world the instantly iconic "Pants on the Ground" and William Hung's "She Bangs." It also introduced talented artists like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson to the world. And now that the show is back on ABC, last night's premiere had a memorable moment of its own when new judge Katy Perry gave a 19-year-old his first kiss then savagely sent him home.
The audition started with Benjamin Glaze talking about the cute girls he talks to while working as a cashier. Judge Luke Bryan then asked Glaze if he’d ever kissed a girl and liked it, to which Glaze responded, “No, I’ve never been in a relationship. I can’t kiss a girl without being in a relationship.” Surprised, Perry stood up and demanded he come kiss her. Fellow judge Lionel Richie encouraged it and waved him over to the panel.
After hesitating and saying no a few times, Glaze went in for a kiss on the cheek, but didn’t make a kissing sound—to Perry’s great disappointment. So he went in for a second attempt, which is when Perry pulled a switcheroo and landed a big one on his lips. She cheered, “I got him!” High fives were exchanged between the judges while Glaze fell to the ground with his mouth wide open in shock. Just watch it.
He later told The New York Times that he wish he could’ve waited for a special someone.
“Would I have done it if she said, ‘Would you kiss me?’ No, I would have said no,” he said. “I know a lot of guys would be like, ‘Heck yeah!’ But for me, I was raised in a conservative family and I was uncomfortable immediately. I wanted my first kiss to be special.”
After he calmed down, he asked for some water before he actually started singing Nick Jonas’ “Levels.” Shortly after he began, though, the judges stopped him and said he wasn’t ready to move on to the next stage. “I think you were a bit rushed and I think that’s because I sped up your BPM of the heartbeat,” Perry said. Yep, she sent him home even though she admitted his lackluster performance was probably her fault! Savage.
After the audition and to make himself feel better, Glaze said he talked about the stolen kiss with his friends and they all agreed it didn’t count because there was no romantic feelings between Glaze and Perry.
Perry hasn’t commented on the kiss heard around America.
Update 3/14: This post has been updated to reflect Glaze’s comments regarding the kiss.
From: Cosmopolitan US
