“This opportunity is really rad, but this is actually going to be my last performance,” she said, “because my heart’s at home. So I’m going to get home to my babies. They kind of need me.”
Sara Beth then scurried offstage, leaving a very confused judges’ panel in her wake.
After judge Luke Bryan called Sara Beth’s decision “a mistake,” Katy agreed, saying, “The thing I see in her is her fighting spirit.”
So, the “Firework” singer asked Sara Beth to return to the stage.
“Sara Beth, life is scary,” Katy told her. “I also know that it’s easier to walk away than to be rejected. But then I also know that you lose out on your fullest potential. I know that you love your family [and] your kids. I know that as a mother. But remember self-love is just as big as motherly love. Don’t leave the competition.”
Despite being asked to advance to the next round, Sara Beth’s mind had already been made up.
“It would be nice if my kids were a little older. I understand how big of an opportunity this is,” she said after leaving the stage. “I still kind of want to go home. I’m sure that when I get home, I’ll regret it. I’ll probably go, ‘Damn it, Sara. You should have stayed. You should have done it.'”
Katy was similarly regretful about Sara Beth’s exit, saying, “Man, that sucks.”