At this point, we all know about Claudia Conway. But how much do we really know? She's the daughter of George and Kellyanne Conway. Not only was Kellyanne one of the previous administration's highly controversial press secretaries, she's also been in the headlines a lot lately for feuding with her daughter.
Claudia has made a lot of claims about her mother, saying that she's abusive on many levels. And in another shocking twist, a photo was recently shared of Claudia in the buff, allegedly by her own mother.
Claudia wants to be more than the daughter of Kellyanne and George, and she wants to be more than the girl on social media, airing her frustrations. And she proved that when she stepped onto the American Idol stage to audition last year. On Sunday's episode of Idol, we finally got hear Claudia sing and learn a little bit more about who she really is.
When Claudia walked out onto the stage, Katy Perry clearly knew who she was right away. "Are you OK?" she asked, rather sincerely. Claudia responded with "no" but then quickly followed it up with "but also yes."
Then we got a bit of Claudia's backstory, including a cameo from Kellyanne. "This is your time to shine," her mother told her in a video chat. Kellyanne said she should be nervous and that "winners are people who are willing to lose," which felt a bit off base for a pep talk.
She talked about her life and having to move to Washington, DC. She said that once she found social media, it helped her to find her voice. Claudia said that even though her parents represent things she doesn't really agree with, she is all about love.
Claudia seemed to carry herself with a lot of confidence, which makes sense. She's been through a lot in her life at only 16 years old. To step out on that stage and introduce herself to the world as a singer takes a lot.
You could tell that Katy Perry was behind her from the start. She praised her for having the courage to come out and set herself apart from her parents and from who she appears to be on social media. Then Claudia started to sing.
She started to sing Rihanna's "Love on the Brain." It was immediately clear that she had a decent voice. But then Katy stopped her and asked her to sing something different, telling her she "lost" the song. Claudia began to sing "When We Were Young" by Adele, after Katy told her to focus on the emotions in the song.
The judges were definitely feeling this song a bit more. Katy nodded along, saying "yes" at one point. It was definitely a great song choice, and while there were some rough spots, Claudia proved that she had talent.
Katy and Lionel Richie both said yes, putting Claudia through to Hollywood. All the judges acknowledged that Claudia definitely had some improvements to make. Katy even said she would have to work hard to rise above all the noise in her life, but she added, "I can get behind ya."
All in all, the audition was impressive on many levels — mainly because her bravery was truly on display. No matter what you think of Claudia's family, or her social media activity, she earned her spot in Hollywood. We can't wait to hear her sing again.
