American Idol: Why did Kenedi Anderson leave the show? Details explored

Kenedi Anderson became one of the first contestants to win the Platinum Ticket on American Idol, the show which proved pivotal for America's music industry because it brought several artists to prominence like Grammy winner Carrie Underwood, Adam Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, and many others. Kenedi Anderson had inched very close to being in line with these legends, but she had to quit before she could finish her show journey.

The 17-year-old Kenedi impressed the judges with her performance on Lady Gaga's Applause and bagged one of the three precious Platinum Tickets. After her audition, Katy was highly impressed and said:

“She was born to be a star."

The Platinum Ticket helped her skip the grueling Hollywood Round, so she went straight to the duet round, followed by the Showstoppers round. In each round, she left the judges and audiences in awe of her performance and this smoothly led her to the Top 24. However, she left the show for personal reasons on April 11, 2022.

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Announcement of Kenedi Anderson's departure from American Idol season 20 and her statement on it

Kenedi's course on American Idol season 20 was great as she delivered back-to-back stunning performances. In her duet performance, Kenedi sang Lean on Me by Bill Withers, alongside her chosen partner Jordan Chase.

In her Showstoppers performance, she performed Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars, which equally impressed the judges and audience and it acted as her easy segway to the Top 24.

The Top 24 performed at the Aulani Disney resort in Hawaii, where she sang Human by Christina Perri. After the performance, host Ryan Seacrest announced the shocking news of Kenedi's departure from the show:

“You will notice there was no voting information during Kenedi’s performance just now. Since we taped these shows in Hawaii earlier, Kenedi has chosen to withdraw from our show for personal reasons. We send her well wishes.”

Right after Ryan's announcement, Kenedi took to Instagram to post about her departure from American Idol. The post read:

"For personal reasons, I’m unable to continue on American Idol. This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but I know it’s necessary. I’m so grateful to American Idol, the judges, the producers, the amazing contestants, and all the fans who have supported me."

She added:

Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity to share my voice, chase my dreams, feel so much joy and happiness doing what I love, and making lifelong friends along the way."

While Kenedi didn't reveal what these personal reasons were, fans were quick to speculate. The day after she exited American Idol, Kenedi posted a video of her singing an original song on TikTok, which led fans to believe that she quit because she signed to a record label.

The show's policy restricts contestants with an existing record label from participating in the show, which might have been the reason for Kenedi Anderson's exit, according to Parade.

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What are the rules that American Idol contestants have to follow?

American Idol has rules placed in the right places to avoid any injustice to its super-talented contestants. It doesn't let contestants from previous seasons who entered the Top 10 audition for the show again.

It also makes it mandatory for contestants below the age of 18 to be accompanied by their parents. Apart from these, the show makes online auditions compulsory for everyone, before they appear for in-person auditions with the producers, and then go to the actual judges.

Another small restriction is that the candidate can't be running for political office, or have an ongoing record deal, like Kenedi Anderson probably did. In addition to this, any person related to the employees of the show also can't audition for it.

After winning the show, and bagging the coveted record deal, the American Idol winner gets only four months to finish recording, post which, the contract is considered null, according to media outlet Good Housekeeping.

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New episodes of American Idol drop every Sunday, on ABC, at 8 pm ET.