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American Idol is back with its 20th season and with each passing episode, it becomes clear why the show has a top spot among viewers. The show is airing its fifth installment on ABC, and saw some incredible contestants auditioning in front of a star-studded panel of judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Katy Perry.
While this season of American Idol has become known for featuring so many talented contestants, a recent announcement has outweighed everything else that happened in the show up until then. Front runner and platinum ticket winner Kenedi Anderson withdrew her participation from the reality singing competition, leaving viewers shocked.
American Idol judges reflect on Kenedi Anderson's exit from the competition
In an interview with USA Today at the American Idol 20th-anniversary celebration, held at the Desert Five Spot's rooftop bar and lounge, judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan weighed in on Kenedi Anderson's withdrawal from the competition.
Lionel Richie said that the Idol judges were "heartbroken" after hearing the news, considering Kenedi's potential "was unbelievable."
Although the contestant became a fan as well as the judges' favorite, with good chances of winning the competition, Katy Perry said instances like this can be "career-defining moments" for whoever fills Kenedi's place.
She continued and said:
"I mean, look, she was a great one, but I do think that we have such incredible other voices that have now even stepped forward a little bit more. It's just really another opportunity for one of these incredible contestants, and we wish nothing but the best for her. ... I say #GBHOJ: God bless her on her journey. Oh, I missed an H. But you know what I'm saying."
According to Lionel Richie, the pressure of staying in the competition might be too much for some contestants to handle:
"Singing is the easy part. If you know what we go through from a pressure point-of-view, most artists can't take it. It's just that simple. And it's not a survivable business, let me say it that way. So when you get under pressure that young in life, I get it."
Luke Bryan agreed to the same and said:
"These kids, they got a lot coming at 'em. I think, potentially for her career, her being a part of our family is as good as the route or the way to the top can be. But, if you're having doubts and anxieties and other things ... we're heartbroken as a show because she was so dynamic and great."
Kenedi Anderson's withdrawal from American Idol left fans shocked
About 30 minutes into the April 11 episode of American Idol, Kenedi Anderson took to the stage to sing Human by Christina Perri. However, her performance was followed by an announcement by host Ryan Seacrest, who said:
“Well, you might have noticed that there was no voting information for Kenedi’s performance just now. Since we taped these shows in Hawaii earlier, Kenedi has decided to withdraw from our show for personal reasons. We send her well wishes and, needless to say, we have incredible talent on this historic season with more iconic Idol performances coming up right now.”
Soon after the televised announcement, Kenedi took to her social media pages to announce her withdrawal from the competition. She said:
"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."
This was soon followed by a TikTok video of the Virginia native singing a snippet of her original song. The video, which was then deleted from the platform, had the contestant sing the following lyrics:
“Here is the chorus of a song I wrote not too long ago. “I need to find, need to find something better than what I had, and with no strings attached. Don’t I deserve that? Something with no strings attached.”
Hearing the news, fans began to speculate that there might be a record deal in the works for Kenedi. However, there has been no official confirmation on the same.
On Monday night, America's vote decided the Top 14 of American Idol. While the Top 10 earned a safe spot from the country's votes, the fates of 4 contestants out of 6 in the danger zone were decided by the judges. Who will make it all the way to win the coveted title?
Tune in to American Idol next week on Sunday, Monday, April 24 and 25, at 08.00 pm ET on ABC.
