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American Idol alum Doug Kiker recently passed away at the age of 32. On Wednesday, March 12, Kiker's sisters, Donna Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez and Angela Evans, shared the news in a heartfelt Facebook post. It stated:
"It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of my brother Douglas Kiker he was sooo loved and will be missed by so many!.. Your singing with the Angel’s now Bubba Please pray for our family as we go threw this very difficult time."
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Among his Alabama contemporaries, Doug Kiker was referred to as The Singing Garbage Man, and the regulars on the show began to adopt the nickname. Kiker got his nickname by singing while working a day job and hanging off the back of a garbage truck in Mobile, Alabama.
Doug Kiker impressed the judges of the American Idol with his performance
After learning about the news, Kiker's other sister Donna Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez expressed her feelings on Thursday, March 13, in another Facebook post, which read:
"Today I got the call that no one wants to get. We lost an amazing person today. He had the biggest smile and knew how to make you laugh.. I know I didn’t raise him but I never stopped loving him.."
It read:
"My parents did an amazing job with him. Douglas Kiker you will forever be missed. Fly high. Say hey to grandma."
On the same day, Donna Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral costs. It has surpassed the target of $4500, reaching $4,538 as of today.
In the description, Carrillos-Ramirez and Donna Kiker wrote:
"Help Us Lay Our Loved One to Rest It is with heavy hearts that we have to say goodbye to one of the most sincere souls and most hilarious person of all. Douglas, a beloved son, brother, father and friend..”
The Alabama native became well-known after his performance of Rascal Flatts' God Bless This Broken Road in 2020 won over American Idol judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan at the beginning of season 18.
With no prior performance experience, Doug Kiker claimed to be doing it for his young daughter, which brought Katy Perry to tears. He had never performed in front of a crowd before his audition.
Prior to reaching the Top 20, Kiker was eliminated. However, he later came back to reprise his audition song during the finale, this time with Rascal Flatts. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, he joined the trio in a virtual concert.
After American Idol, Kiker performed in places in his hometown of Mobile and hinted at a movie about him that was supposedly in production. Garbage Man, an independent film made in Doug Kiker's hometown, debuted on Vimeo the next year.
Doug Kiker played a fictionalised version of himself in the project, playing a bouncer at a bar that was holding a singing competition. On April 21, 2022, one of his final Instagram posts, Kiker thanked "all the people that have shown your love and support," and he told his followers:
"I may have been down but don't ever count me out I refuse to give up on all the people rooting for the dreamers of the world."
TODAY reported on their March 13 report that in May 2021, approximately a year following his time on American Idol, Kiker was taken into custody and accused of third-degree harassment or domestic abuse.
Meanwhile, there was no announcement about his cause of death. Kiker is survived by his two daughters. He shared both of them with his ex-fiance, Valerie Cook.
