{"id":5118,"date":"2022-07-04T13:15:47","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T13:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/youngadventists.org\/?p=5118"},"modified":"2022-07-04T13:16:42","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T13:16:42","slug":"katy-perry-encourages-american-idol-contestant-to-rebel-against-his-strict-christian-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/youngadventists.org\/express\/katy-perry-encourages-american-idol-contestant-to-rebel-against-his-strict-christian-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Katy Perry Encourages American Idol Contestant to Rebel against His ‘Strict’ Christian Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Milton Quintanilla<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0|\u00a0Contributor for ChristianHeadlines.com<\/em>\u00a0| Thursday, March 31, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a recent American Idol episode, pop singer Katy Perry jokingly encouraged a young contestant to rebel against his Christian parents by writing a song about a same-sex kiss, just as she did with her 2008 hit song, \u201cI Kissed a Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry, who serves as a judge on the show, commented on the peculiar nature of Nashville, Tennessee-resident Israel McFarland\u2019s name after the 21-year-old introduced himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy parents liked to name us all names from the Bible,\u201d McFarland shared during his\u00a0audition<\/a>\u00a0in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He further revealed that he grew up in a strict religious household and that his parents disliked secular music, adding that his mother still makes remarks if his songs contain curse words,\u00a0The Christian Post<\/em><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCursing is actually one of the few things in life that I enjoy. So I just can\u2019t stop,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry, who herself is a pastor\u2019s daughter, related to McFarland\u2019s upbringing and encouraged him to follow in her footsteps<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet me give you a little piece of advice,\u201d the pop singer jokingly said. \u201cWrite a song called \u2018I Kissed a Boy, and I Liked It\u2019 and let them hear it for the first time on their own on the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry then switched gears asking, \u201cAlright, Israel, what Satan music are you going to share with us today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McFarland told Perry and fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan that he would be singing an original song titled \u201cThe Cost.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis song is actually about, I want to chase my goals, but that just sort of unbearably brings me away from my close friends, and I don\u2019t know, man, like life is so f*****g short,\u201d the young man said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to try and not f**k it up, you know what I\u2019m saying,\u201d he continued as he took a seat at a piano to play the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Richie enjoyed McFarland\u2019s audition, Bryan and Perry voted against him, preventing him from moving on to the next round of the competition. Bryan told McFarland that he sees him more as a songwriter than a singer. Perry, on her part, concurred and said he needed to continue to work on his voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m sad I didn\u2019t make it to the next round, but it was still such a cool experience!!\u201d McFarland said of the experience on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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