Kellyanne Conway was there rooting for 16-year-old daughter Claudia Conway’s Hollywood Week performance during Sunday’s American Idol, even breaking out a little song of her own backstage. The former Senior Counselor to former President Donald Trump and her daughter have had some serious public spats over the past year, but the two seemed congenial before Claudia performed her cover of Bishop Briggs’ “River” in front of the judges.
The stunning performance was enough for Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan to push her through to the next round, which was enough to prompt Kellyanne to sing, “This girl is on fire, this girl is on fire!” to her daughter. Things definitely seem to have improved since January, when police were called to the Conway home, and Claudia claimed that her mother was behind the Twitter leak of her topless photo. While at the time, Claudia said in a since-deleted TikTok that her mom was going to “f—ing jail” due to what she initially alleged as her role in the leak, she later backtracked, saying her mom “would never, ever post anything to hurt me like that intentionally.”
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In August 2020, Kellyanne announced that she was exiting her White House job to focus on her family after Claudia claimed publicly she was seeking emancipation from her parents over alleged “trauma and abuse,” but in Sunday’s Idol, the teen proclaimed during her mom’s visit to the stage, “It is OK for you to have different views from the people you love.”
Claudia’s performance wasn’t the only thing that captured the judges’ attention Sunday. The teen’s newly-dark locks were called a “transformation” by Perry, who previously helped the contestant shed her nerves during her initial audition to Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain” and Adele’s “When We Were Young.” Claudia said of the “Firework” singer’s advice during that first performance during Sunday’s episode, “She believed in me, and I could not be more grateful for that. Now I’m just trying it all out telling myself I can do it.”
Moving on to the second week of Hollywood performances, Claudia will have to make it past the duets round, where she will be paired with another singer by the judges. Don’t miss round two of Hollywood Week, kicking off Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
