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Much to the surprise of pretty much all of us, Claudia Conway is auditioning for a ticket to Hollywood on the upcoming season of American Idol.
The 16-year-old--whose parents are former Donald Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway and Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway-- quickly became the talk of the internet on Monday night after she was featured in a commercial for the long-running competition series. While her appearance on the show seemingly came out of nowhere, the teaser is absolutely real.
Once all of the commotion about her arrival made its way onto Twitter, American Idol confirmed Conway’s appearance on the upcoming season.
“You heard that right. @ClaudiaMConwayy is looking for a golden ticket,” the show wrote. “Find out Sunday if she has what it takes to be #TheNextIdol on #AmericanIdol.”
The show’s social media accounts went on to share a 30-second clip of Conway’s audition, which shows fans what they can look forward to on this week’s episode.
“I’m very nervous but very excited,” Conway says in the beginning of the clip. Host Ryan Seacrest then says in a voiceover, “She’s a social media sensation… but will she get a ticket to Hollywood?”
In the same teaser, Claudia also introduces herself to the judges: Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie.
“I’m Claudia Conway. My parents are high profile political figures,” she says. Unsurprisingly, though, the video ends with a lot of mystique, with Perry telling the teenager, “We want an American Idol.”
Once her name started trending on Twitter, Conway posted a video on TikTok explaining her musical background and her appearance on the show.
“I know I made a video in November saying I was auditioning, I did audition and it will be on air this Sunday, Feb. 14,” she explains. “I’ve been singing my whole life, I grew up in musical theater. Music has been one of the pillars in my life and I wouldn’t be here without it.”
She continues, “I play about eight instruments. I’ve just been doing it since I could walk. They saw a video I posted as a joke of me singing and they were like, ‘Hey, do you want to audition?’ and I was like, ‘Oh s**t, yeah.’ Because who wouldn’t? So everyone thinks that this is a publicity stunt or me trying to be like, whatever, but no – music is my passion.”
This season of American Idol premieres on February 14 at 8 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
