American Idol judge Katy Perry recently opened up about her duet with country superstar Thomas Rhett and teased that they have a music video on the way.
After joining forces for the live debut of “Where We Started” during the American Idol finale, Perry told Access about their performance and shared a bit about what’s to come from her and the country hitmaker.
“That was our first performance of our song together, ‘Where We Started,’ which is from his album and it’s my first foray into country music and I love this song,” Perry explained. ”It’s so special to me and I’m excited to put the music video out for it in the fall. There’s a whole bit. I love Thomas.”
In an interview with E! Red Carpet & Award Shows, Perry was asked about dabbling in Country music.
“You know it’s my first time dipping my toe into that water and I love it because it’s all about songwriting, it’s about telling a story and I feel like storytelling is so important in life,” Perry said.
The superstars joined forces for the live debut of “Where We Started” during the American Idol finale on Sunday evening (May 22).
Perry and Rhett took the stage as silhouettes in front of what looked like a picturesque sunrise atop two massive staircases. Rhett was given the spotlight first, before Perry was illuminated for her verse. The pair then paired their vocals together for the chorus.
“Where We Started” is the title track off Rhett’s new album, released on April 1, 2022. The country/pop track finds Rhett and Perry recalling the early days of a relationship in an effort to remind themselves of better times.
“Those days when you’re brokenhearted/ And you’re gettin’ knocked down/ And you say you don’t know how far we’re gonna go/ Just look at that road and think about where we started/ Keep your eyes on me ’cause talk is cheap/ We’re all we need, yeah/ Darlin’, I know how far we’re gonna go/ Just look at that road and think about where we started,” they sing on the chorus.
Earlier this year, Rhett shared the story behind the song with Music Mayhem and other media outlets and revealed that a duet was “never a plan,” it just sort of happened that way.
It all started when a member of his team asked for his permission to send it to Perry to see if she’d be interested in collaborating on the song.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, but they’re not gonna respond.’… And literally within 24 hours Katy responded and said, ‘I love this. I resonate with this so well,’” Rhett explained. “When she put her vocal on it, it took her, like, two weeks. She really put a lot of time and effort into this vocal… This reminded me of how amazing a vocalist she is, and I feel like it really came to life.”
Where We Started features 15 tracks, including Rhett’s latest hit, “Slow Down Summer.”
In addition to Rhett and Perry, Gabby Barrett, James Arthur, Sara Bareilles, Michael Bublé, Deana Carter, Earth, Wind & Fire, Melissa Etheridge, Flo Rida, Ben Platt, Tai Verdes, and more also performed during the star-studded finale of American Idol.
At the conclusion of the Idol finale, 20-year-old Kentucky native Noah Thompson was revealed as the Season 20 champion of American Idol.