“American Idol” hopeful Kennedy Anderson addressed his reasons for leaving ABC’s singing competition, though the show’s star judges drew rave reviews for his performance.
The 18-year-old Virginia native wrote on Instagram, where the singer has 124,000 followers, that she was unable to continue with the show for undisclosed personal reasons, adding that it was “one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make.” . . but I know it’s necessary.”
Anderson thanked the judges – Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan – and the show for giving “such an amazing opportunity to share my voice.”
That voice impressed me a lot. “You just might be the biggest star ever,” Brian told Anderson after his audition, which has garnered over 4.9 million views on YouTube. “I truly believe that your music will last for the rest of your life.” The journey has just started from here.”
Recap:‘American Idol’ shocker: Kennedy Anderson, frontrunner to win platinum ticket, leaves the show
Songs that impressed the judges included “Human” by Christina Perry, “Applause” by Lady Gaga, and “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars.
This week’s episode featured a performance taped from a few weeks ago in Hawaii. The show goes live on the Coast from April 18 (8 EDT/5 PDT) after the top 20 contestants are named in Sunday’s episode. The “Idol” host and producer had been cryptic about Anderson in recent weeks.
The singer isn’t the first to suddenly leave the show early. Most have cited equally vague personal reasons.
During Season 4 in 2005, contestant Mario Vasquez left the show, stating that “it wasn’t right for him”, but a lawsuit was filed that surfaced two years later alleging that the productions working on the show. Vasquez was fired from the show after sexually assaulting an accountant. ,
In 2021, popular contestant Wyatt Pike also stepped down, which he also attributed to unspecified “personal reasons”. Richie had previously declared that Pike was “up for something big”.
Contribution: Charles Trepany
