Katy Perry punks 'Idol' contestant and makes her cry

It was Hollywood Week on American Idol Monday night, and during the group round Crystal Alicea was feeling overwhelmed as she struggled to keep up with her more experienced group members.

“There’s so many people here in the competition that know what they’re already doing, and I’m just a girl that used to sing karaoke and has done a couple talent shows,” said Alicea. She also said that she had never been a part of a group performance, which made harmonizing a challenge. Despite her feeling the pressure and slowing down the rest of the group during rehearsals, the rest of the ladies supported Alicea and helped her work through it. Ultimately, Alicea totally held her own when they performedin front of the judges. Unfortunately, hearts sank when Katy Perry told the girls there were only three spots left, and one of them would need to volunteer as tribute.

“Girls, you were great,” Perry told the ladies. “You guys all got stardust on you and, I mean, honestly, like, you guys as a group, you picked well. You guys know what you’re doing. But we have room for three more people. Out of you girls, I need one person to volunteer to not go on to the next round.” The four women stood shocked on stage, all (understandably) unwilling to make the sacrifice. You could hear a pin drop. That is, until one person stepped up to the plate: Alicea. “I’ll do it,” she said, immediately bursting into tears. It was a truly sad moment … until we found out it was a joke. A very cruel joke. “Oh, sweetie, don’t cry! You’re all going through,” Perry exclaimed. “I’m just trying to see your girl power!”

In the end, all of the ladies went through to the solo round, but Alicea’s bravery and willingness to give up her Idol dream may work in her favor down the road. Even Perry told everyone in the theater, “Look at her heart. Round of applause for her heart. Round of applause for her heart. Honey, I will never forget that.”

American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of American Idol for free on Yahoo View.

Check out a former ‘American Idol’ contestant getting a second chance, this time as a drag queen:

Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment:

• First ‘Idol baby’ stuns judges with a pitch-perfect voice on ‘American Idol’

• ‘Idol’ contestant surprises mom with call from Katy Perry and Lionel Richie

• Katy Perry takes a tumble and flashes fellow ‘American Idol’ judges

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram — or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.