UPDATE: It’s OFFICIAL. Ryan Seacrest confirmed it on the Top 24 performance show (April 11). Kendi also confirms that she withdrew from the show on social media. She doesn’t go into detail, but says it was the hardest decision she’s ever had to make.
An update on @AmericanIdol ? pic.twitter.com/utRb2t95Mk
— Kenedi Anderson (@kenedianderson_) April 12, 2022
Rumors began swirling among fans when American Idol platinum ticket holder and Los Angeles stand out Kenedi Anderson didn’t join her fellow Top 24 contestants in Los Angeles this week. Also, oddly, American Idol has not uploaded her performances to their official Youtube channel since her audition. Also, as Blake Busch pointed out to me, American Idol posted congrats to each semi-finalist on Instagram stories last night, but omitted Kenedi.
Now, Idol spoilers, the team who regularly spoil the Top 24 and more, is reporting that Kenedi Anderson has indeed dropped out. “Kenedi Anderson withdrew from the American Idol Season 20 Top 24, making her the 1st female semi-finalist (or finalist) in American Idol history to do so,” they wrote on Twitter.
They added, “Kenedi Anderson has been in contact with Benson Boone, who famously withdrew from last season’s Top 24. It’ sis believed that he encouraged her to do so as he did over a year ago.”
There is a difference in circumstances between Benson and Kenedi, however. Benson dropped out after producers selected him for the Top 24, but before they filmed the round. Kennedi traveled to Hawaii earlier this year and taped a performance along with her fellow contestants.
If Kenedi dropped out, wouldn’t producers edit her out of the show?
If Kenedi has dropped out, why wouldn’t American Idol edit her out of the show? It could be her withdrawal happened too recently to change the show’s episodes. The Platinum Ticket narrative is woven very tightly into the Hollywood Week trajectory. It would have been very hard to remove the singer out of that prevailing narrative.
Instead, consider this: American Idol keeps her in the show, but gives her a negative story line. Seriously, she got a bad edit in Hollywood. Her duets performance appeared on screen less than stellar (actually a trainwreck) and she openly questioned her choice in duet partner, Jordan Chase, in front of the poor singer’s face. Her Showstopper performance was better, but not a knock out of the park.
It’s worth stressing here that so far there is NO confirmation that Kenedi dropped out of the show. But fans are wondering, and there is compelling evidence that the rumor could be true.
Did Benson Boone start a trend?
If Kenedi traveled to Hawaii and taped her Top 24 performance, she signed a contract. American Idol must write language into the docs that say singers can’t sign agreements with other entities for a specified amount of time. Or else singers would use American Idol as the biggest tryout in the world to attract the attention of label heads.
When Benson Boone dropped out last year, he signed with Dan Reynolds (Imagine Dragons) Warner Brothers imprint. He scored a bunch of streams and has had high profile TV appearances since then. Fellow contestants may see his success as a blueprint to follow.
