“I have to leave. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry,” she announced before she was set to duet during Hollywood Week.
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By Lauren Huff April 04, 2023 at 08:48 PM EDT
LIONEL RICHIE, KATY PERRY, RYAN SEACREST, LUKE BRYAN
Just one day after a different contender, Sara Beth Liebe, shockingly left the singing competition to return home to be with her kids, another contestant has left prematurely. Kaya Stewart, who previously made waves in her audition for the show which included her father, Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, on guitar, revealed during Hollywood Week she was leaving the show due to an undisclosed illness. Stewart was set to perform a duet of Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me” with fellow contestant Fire Wilmore before dropping out.
“Hi everybody. I have a little announcement to make,” she said on stage during the show. “I got sick at the beginning of Hollywood Week and I have been trying to push myself and keep going and during this performance I got to work with Fire and it was such a great experience. She’s so talented and so incredible and we bonded so much. But I realize that I wasn’t able to give 100% so I’ve decided to not perform. But Fire is going to perform and I’m really grateful that I got to be here and thank you guys, but I’m not gonna be performing.”
AMERICAN IDOL 605 (Auditions) – With help from superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, viewers embark on a nationwide search across New Orleans, Las Vegas and Nashville to find the next singing sensation. Emmy® Award-winning host and producer Ryan Seacrest hosts. SUNDAY, MARCH 26 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images) KAYA STEWART, DAVE STEWART
Kaya Stewart auditions for ‘American Idol’ alongside her dad, Eurythmics member Dave Stewart
| Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC
American Idol judge Katy Perry then asked Stewart if this meant she was leaving the show entirely.
“Yeah, so me not performing today means I’m no longer gonna be in the competition,” Stewart replied as she left, visibly crying. “I have to leave. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.”
When asked how she felt about her duet partner leaving, Wilmore started to cry as well and shared how hard the experience had been for her. “It’s been really stressful. It is a lot of stress on me to learn a different arrangement and just come out here,” she said.
In the end, Wilmore did perform with a very game assist from Jayna Elise, and through tears eventually finished the song. The spectacle also moved Perry and fellow judge Lionel Richie to tears, before they ultimately sent Wilmore on to the next round.
Watch a recap of Stewart’s journey and Wilmore’s performance in the video below.
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Ryan Seacrest hosts as Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan guide aspiring singers on their way to superstardom.
type TV Show seasons 20 rating genre Reality network
Source: Entertainment Weekly | Read More