Caleb Kennedy squeezed past American Idol's minimum age requirement, which is 15, to appear on the show at just 16 years old. The young singer is from Roebuck, South Carolina and specializes in country music. He has already signed with a label, CK Records. Caleb impressed the judges each week, but his time on American Idol came to an end after the top five due to a video that emerged of him next to a friend who was wearing a KKK-style hood.
High school student Caleb Kennedy got major props after his Disney Week performance on American Idol. He sang "Real Gone" from Cars and played the electric guitar. He wore a hat that covered his eyes as his curly mullet peeked out from the back of his neck. The judges, Katy Perry, Luke Bryant, and Lionel Richie, praised his performance. They all agreed his energy was radiating from the stage. After his performance, a video feed revealed a large group of his friends and family watching from home, including members of his band.
Earlier in the season, Caleb was placed in the "Country" category of the Genre Challenge. Country is definitely his genre, and he has written many original country songs. He performed two of his own original songs on American Idol, including his audition, where he sang "Nowhere," and his last week on the show, where he sang "Mama Said" in honor of Mother's Day. Caleb is sixteen years old and already has a four-song EP featuring the finished version of "Nowhere." He's most often compared to the country singer Luke Combs, who is from Caleb's neighboring state of North Carolina.
Caleb Kennedy's Instagram is @calebkennedyofficial. He posts videos of himself singing many of his original songs. Of course, lately, it has been filled with photos of his American Idol experience, from selfies with his duet partner, Jason Aldean, to throwback shots of his first audition where he got the coveted Golden Ticket. In one of the videos he posted on Instagram where he's performing with his band, he can be seen wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat. His most recent Instagram post involves the scandal that caused him to leave the show.
On May 12, Caleb uploaded a screenshot of his Notes app, where he had written an apology to his fans. The statement on Instagram gave his fans an explanation for his American Idol departure. He explained he would no longer be on the show and added, "I'll be taking a little time off social media to better myself, but saying that, I know this has hurt and disappointed a lot of people and made people lose respect for me. I'm so sorry!" Caleb's time on American Idol may have come to an end, but at just sixteen, it's possible that he will learn and grow from this experience.
Source: Caleb Kennedy/Instagram