‘American Idol’ Contestant Tearfully Apologizes to Katy Perry for Duet Week Drama: Watch

After a week of misunderstandings and onstage drama, American Idol hopeful Nutsa Buzaladze is redeeming herself. On the latest episode of the competition series, she tearfully apologized to Katy Perry — who last week told the 25-year-old singer to have more “grace” — and shared her take on what went down during her contentious duet rehearsals with Carina DeAngelo.

During last week’s duet round performances, DeAngelo threw Buzaladze under the bus by telling Perry and co-judges Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie that “some people wanted to sleep instead of working.” Buzaladze was visibly upset about the remark, but chose to keep silent — even as the “Firework” singer instructed her, “don’t forget about grace.”

“I wanted to tell my side of the story and I felt so bad, I was frozen,” she tearfully reflected in a sit-down with the judges that aired Sunday (April 9). “I didn’t want to bring negative energy, so that’s why I didn’t say nothing. I didn’t speak up because I didn’t want to cry on stage. After I left the stage I was just destroyed. So I wanted to apologize for that.”

Immediately, Perry stood up and hugged Buzaladze — who, in spite of the drama, moved forward to the next round while DeAngelo was sent home. “That is great,” Perry said. “That’s so wonderful and Nutsa, what I meant by grace is that it’s OK to be determined and ambitious and edgy and strong, but also with grace.”

“I really relate to you because I know what’s like to be a strong woman … to want to be strong and to never break and feel like nothing can ever get to me but that’s not real,” she added. “You’re a real person with a big heart and a big talent.”

In an April 4 Instagram post, Buzaladze — who this week proceeded to perform a show-stopping solo rendition of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” — explained in more detail what happened offstage between her and DeAngelo. “I want y’all to know that I took a 17-hour flight to get to LA, just 1.5 days before the shooting,” she wrote. “I did not know that we had additional vocal rehearsals, probably I missed this information , my bad. However, once Carina called me, I prepared myself and came back, as soon as I could, to rehearse even more.”

“I realized Carina was not feeling comfortable by that time and I did my best to rehearse as much as she wanted, I really wanted to make this experience unforgettable for both of us,” she continued. “She is a very talented girl, with strong vocals and I am sure she will achieve a lot in her career life and I wish her all the best.”

Watch Nutsa Buzaladze apologize to Katy Perry on American Idol below: