Katy Perry Calls Ariana Grande the 'Best Singer of Our Generation': 'I Don't Say That Lightly'

The former 'American Idol' judge paid a compliment to the 'Eternal Sunshine' singer following her exit from the singing competition show

Katy Perry gives major props to Ariana Grande’s stellar vocal skills.

The former American Idol judge, 39, recalled paying the Positions singer, 30, a compliment years ago while speaking to EXTRA recently about season 22 winner Abi Carter.

“I think she was authentic, I think she was humble, I think she was singing with an angelic frequency,” Perry began of Carter, noting her success over the season. “The way that she sang from the heart and the cry and the crackle, it was just like, whoa. This is a whole ‘nother voice.”

“The voice is unlike anything I’ve heard in pop music,” the "Teenage Dream" artist added. “The last time I said that, I said that about Ariana Grande when she went on The Ellen [DeGeneres] Show. I was like, ‘Oh this girl is the best singer of our generation.’ So, I don’t say that lightly.”

Related: Katy Perry's American Idol Finale Looks Include Towering Gown and Sweet Nod to Her 7 Seasons: See the Pieces

Grande appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show several times during the daytime talk show’s 19-season run. The two-time Grammy-winning artist performed her song “Breathin” off her Sweetner album live on television for the first time, along with her hit single “thank u, next,” during a 2018 appearance on the show.

Most recently, Grande dropped her seventh studio album, Eternal Sunshine, in January following the release of her chart-topping single “yes, and?” Her album spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. It also became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 at the time of its release, the streaming platform announced in March.

Related: Ariana Grande Reveals Why She Wasn't Planning to Release a New Album Until at Least 2025

In an April TikTok video, the Wicked star celebrated the one-month anniversary of her latest album by telling fans,  “thank you for your love.”

She also said that it’s just the start of her new album’s era, teasing, “i cannot wait for everything that has yet to come within this eternal sunshine cycle (that has only just begun & may it never end).”

Elsewhere in her Extra interview, Perry confirmed that she’s gearing up to release her next album following her emotional farewell from American Idol after seven seasons. She touched on the forthcoming music, which does not yet have a release date, during her Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance in February when she revealed that she was leaving Idol.

“I have some things planned for this year,” Perry teased to host Kimmel, “So it’s going to be a very, very exciting year … for all popstar girlies!”

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