While a nine-year-old metal screamer recently wowed the stuffy judges of America's Got Talent, the celebs running the show at American Idol these days still have a low tolerance for metal. In a recent episode of the singing competition series, a metal musician named Rach Karma performed a spirited version of Dio's "Holy Diver" that made all three judges — Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan — grimace and bulge their eyes in horror.
Karma, who fronts the band Nevermourn, appeared on the show with an acoustic guitarist by her side as she belted the Dio classic with all of her might. She definitely doesn't have Dio's range, and if former American Idol judge Randy Jackson was present, he might've offered up his iconic refrain, "a little pitchy, dog." But nevertheless, it was a refreshing break from the sentimental ballads and one-dimensional pop songs that most contestants bring to the show.
Unsurprisingly, though, the judges weren't having it. Perry and Bryan gawked at the performance as they shot it down with resounding "no"'s, with Bryan quipping that he'll have to "go search what 'holy diver' is" after the break. However, Richie, despite saying no, at least seemed intrigued by Karma's presence on the show. In fact, he even took her being there as an opportunity to mention that "Rob Zombie happens to be one of my dearest friends."
"What??," Perry exclaimed. "Rob Zombie and Lionel Richie hang out?" Richie explained that he knows Zombie from their collaborative cover of the Commodores' funk anthem, "Brick House," which appeared on the soundtrack of Zombie's cult horror movie classic, House of 1000 Corpses.
Zombie caught wind of his unexpected primetime TV shoutout and posted a clip of the exchange on Instagram, suggesting that maybe Richie had the 20th anniversary of the "Brick House" collaboration fresh on his mind.
Check out the bizarre American Idol audition above via YouTube, and see Zombie's ecstatic reaction below.
