Popular American Idol season 20 platinum ticket winner and early frontrunner, Kenedi Anderson, has left the competition. Kenedi, who was 17-years-old at the time of her audition, and turned 18 on March 4, stunned the American Idol judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan, during her audition with her outstanding rendition of Lady Gaga's "Applause." As Kenedi played piano, her soaring vocals impressed them so much that they gave her a standing ovation and marveled that she had not yet been discovered. Luke said that he thought she would definitely be in the Top 10. They then presented Kenedi with one of the three platinum tickets to Hollywood, which allowed her to skip the first round of Hollywood Week, and instead watch the other contestants in order to choose a partner for the duets round.
Kenedi selected 21-year-old Jordan Chase as her duet partner, and they performed a version of Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," after which Katy said that they "made magic together." They both advanced to the final round of Hollywood Week, the Showstoppers round, during which Kenedi sang "Talking to the Moon" by Bruno Mars. Kenedi's stellar performance earned her a place in the Top 24. However, Kenedi didn't join the other Top 24 contestants in Los Angeles the week before the episodes aired, and American Idol did not upload any videos of her performances after her audition to its official YouTube channel. She was also left out of the posts congratulating each semi-finalist, and fans began to speculate that perhaps Kenedi had dropped out of the competition.
Unfortunately, the rumor turned out to be true. During the second Top 24 episode which was filmed at Disney's Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawai'i and aired on April 11, fans were at first relieved to see Kenedi's emotional performance of Christina Perri's "Human." After the song aired, the judges gave Kenedi a standing ovation, but instead of airing their comments and the information about how to vote for Kenedi, a message from Ryan Seacrest appeared. Ryan said, "Well, you might have noticed that there was no voting information during Kenedi’s performance just now. Since we taped these shows in Hawai'i 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 for you right now." This was not only disappointing, but surprising, since Kenedi had said in her package that her week in Hawai'i had been one of the best weeks of her life.
Immediately after her performance aired, Kenedi released a statement on Instagram and Twitter, explaining why she had left the competition. She captioned the post, "An update on American Idol" and wrote, "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. I'm so grateful to American Idol, the judges, the producers, the amazing contestants, and all the fans who have supported me. Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity to share my voice, chase my dreams, feel so much joy and happiness doing what I love, and make lifelong friends along the way. <3" The comments section of the post was filled with an outpouring of love from both her fellow contestants and her fans, whom Katy Perry had nicknamed "Keni Cats."
Although Kenedi cited personal reasons for her departure from the show, some fans wondered if she had been offered a record deal or decided that she did not want to be tied to American Idol through their contract. The Twitter account Idol Spoilers reported that, according to sources, Kenedi had been in contact with Benson Boone, the season 19 frontrunner who dropped out of the competition after he earned a golden ticket to Hollywood, and later signed a record deal with Imagine Dragons' lead singer Dan Reynolds' record label, Night Street Records in partnership with Warner Records. Idol Spoilers shared that it was believed that Benson encouraged Kenedi to leave the competition. However, this is all just speculation.
No matter what the specific reason is for Kenedi's exit from the show, her absence will surely be felt on the American Idol stage. She was a bright light in the competition with immense talent as a singer and a musician. This is surely not the last that America will see of Kenedi Anderson.
American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC.
Source: Kenedi Anderson/Instagram, Idol Spoilers/Twitter