Katy Perry Transforms Into Ursula For Disney-themed American Idol Episode

Katy Perry dressed up as The Little Mermaid's villain Ursula for the Disney-themed episode of American Idol on Sunday night (21Apr19).

The Firework hitmaker turned up to judge the latest round of the U.S. singing competition and stunned her colleagues Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie with her ensemble, which was complete with moveable tentacles and a purple bodysuit.

Speaking about her over-the-top costume to Entertainment Tonight, Katy explained that she was intrigued by the idea of playing the evil sea witch, who was voiced by Pat Carroll in the classic 1989 animated feature.

"I was thinking about (being) the Little Mermaid (Ariel) but then I realised, Ursula is a character who isn't done very much, (while) the Little Mermaid always gets her moment in the sun!" she shared. "And Ursula, actually, really wants Ariel's voice. And that's what I want, is these contestants' voices!"

Katy played up her character throughout the show, with country star Luke highly impressed with her dedication to her look and even described the star as the "queen of shock factor".

"I was in my trailer, looking like me, and somebody goes, 'Katy is gonna be Ursula.' And I go, 'Is she purple all over?' And they said, 'She's purple all over.' I went, 'God, I love that woman. I love her,'" he laughed.

During the programme, the judges had to bid farewell to two singers from the Top 10, with Uche's version of I 2 I from A Goofy Movie and Dimitrius Graham's rendition of You'll Be in My Heart from Tarzan failing to impress.

In keeping with The Little Mermaid theme, Lea Michele dazzled the American Idol audience with her guest performance of the movie's ballad Part of Your World, which the remaining contestants joined in on at its conclusion.

The former Glee star is playing Ariel in a two-night musical performance of The Little Mermaid at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on 17 and 18 May.