Did Kya Monee previously audition for American Idol? Meet season 21 contestant ahead of  premiere

Kya Monee, who previously auditioned on season 19 of American Idol, is set to return to the reality competition series. She will be seen auditioning for season 21 of the show, which premieres on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at 8 pm ET on ABC.

Kya Monee was 19 years old when she auditioned for season 19 of American Idol. She only appeared once on the show when she sang the legendary duet with the late singer and fellow competitor Willie Spence, who also became the runner-up that season.

After losing her fellow friend to a tragic loss, Kya will be seen at the show, giving it another shot. Viewers can stay tuned to see if she receives a golden ticket.

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Kya Monee performed with Willie Spence on American Idol season 19

American Idol season 21 will be Kya Monee's second attempt at the competition. She previously auditioned in season 19 in 2021 and performed a memorable duet with the late singer and fellow contestant Willie Spence. The duo sang their rendition of Stay by Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko, bringing the judges to tears.

Halfway through their performance, the judges got up from their seats to watch the duo perform. Lionel labeled the performance "divine," while Luke said he had thought about the duo during his morning coffee. Katy Perry was in tears as she took her seat and expressed her love for the contestants.

Willie Spence emerged as the runner-up in season 19 of the reality show. However, he lost his life in a car accident on October 11, 2022. This left Kya devastated as she took to Instagram to mourn her friend's loss. She said:

"You became my brother and my friend in one. Getting a call saying that you were no longer here made my stomach turn and heart break...thank you so much for becoming my brother and showing me how capable I was of becoming a star. I love you so much..You’re always in my heart.”

After Willie's passing, she decided to compete in the show again. In an interview with KVUE, the American Idol season 21 hopeful revealed that she started singing in church when she was four years old. She first sang Beyoncé's Listen, and since then, has become passionate about turning singing into a career.

When asked what prompted her to compete in the show again, she reflected on Willie and the loss of her other friends. Kya said:

"I ended up losing my best friend and also my duet partner from American Idol. They both wanted me to pursue the dream that I wanted to pursue, which was to be on American Idol."

The singer from Austin, Texas, continued:

"I've always wanted to be on American Idol. So when I left the first time, it was like, "Well, you have to go back." When I lost both of them, I just knew that it was destined for me to go back."

Kya has a huge social media following. Since debuting on American Idol in 2019, the singer has more than 39K Instagram followers and over 536K followers on TikTok. She also has 26K YouTube followers and over 1.5 million views. She constantly updates her followers with her song covers, competitions, and other personal and professional updates.

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The hit ABC competition series will see a brand new set of contestants competing to impress the judges, including pop princess Katy Perry, country superstar Luke Bryan, and Oscar-winning singer/songwriter Lionel Richie.

Successful participants will get a golden ticket to Hollywood Week. One contestant from each of the three audition sites will also receive a platinum ticket that will enable them to skip the first week.

Watch Kya audition along with other participants this Sunday, February 19, 2023, at 8 pm ET on ABC.