‘American Idol’ Hopeful Is ‘In Her Taylor Swift Era’ With Original Song About Teen Boy Putting in ‘5%’ Effort

Liliana Dalton is in her Reputation era on American Idol.

The 17-year-old San Antonio, Texas, native stepped in front of the judges for an audition in the upcoming episode of the singing competition, noting that she’s “a teenage girl. I have a lot of feelings about boys especially. I just write them down.” Her audition is premiering exclusively on Billboard above ahead of Sunday’s episode.

As a result, the self-proclaimed Taylor Swift fan sat at the piano to perform an original song, called “5%,” an emotional ballad about a boy putting minimal effort into a relationship.

“Even though that song lacked a bit of fundamental structure, I loved it,” judge Katy Perry noted. “It was raw, it was honest, it was vulnerable. You were taking your inner-thoughts and displayed them to the world. I do wonder if you’ve got range?”

The judges — which also include Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan — then challenged Dalton to perform Adele’s “Someone Like You” to see if she could also belt notes “from the gut.” The teen rose to the challenge, flawlessly executing the 2011 hit.

“I want you to understand there’s potential there,” Richie noted, giving her a “yes” to progress to the next round. “You’ve got to get into the guts of it.”

Perry and Bryan also gave Dalton a “yes,” sending Dalton to the Hollywood round. Watch the full audition above, and catch the next episode of American Idol on Sunday (March 24) at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.