Kenedi Anderson caused a firestorm when host Ryan Seacrest announced that she quit American Idol after she participating in the Top 24 round at Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii.
American Idol showed the 17 year old singer from Virginia performing “Human” by Christina Perri on April 11, but instead of judges critiques, the show cut to Ryan Seacrest in a studio announced that Kenedi had dropped out. “We send her well wishes and needless to say we have incredible talent on this historic season…,” Ryan said.
Afterward, the singer posted a short message to social media that only said she was leaving the show for “personal reasons.”
Then, on Wednesday (April 14), the Platinum Ticket winner shared only the chorus of an original song she penned.
“No strings attached”
‘Here is the chorus of a song I wrote not too long ago,’ she explained in the clip, before belting out “I need to find, need to find something better than what I had, and with no strings attached, she sings. “Don’t I deserve that? Something with no strings attached.”
She finishes: “That’s all your get.”
Of course, fans immediately began to read into the lyrics, convinced that American Idol held the strings from which Kenedi wanted to break free.
Who knows why she posted the lyrics that she did. But eventually, Kenedi deleted the clip from Tik Tok. Big outlets like the New York Post, US and Daily Mail picking up on the song, calling it “shady” could have played into why she deleted it.
But of course, the internet is forever.
Many fans are speculating that Kenedi left American Idol to sign a record deal. There is no evidence of that yet. While Benson Boon quit American Idol last season after they accepted him to the Top 24, but before the performances and voting, Kenedi had already performed the round. Did she sign a contract that would keep her from signing new contracts for a period of time?
“This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make”
“For personal reasons I’m unable to continue on American Idol,” Kenedi wrote on social media. “This has been one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make, but I know it’s necessary.”
Kenedi continued, “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.”
Fans began speculating that Kenedi quit after the Showcase episode aired on April 4. They noticed that Kenedi wasn’t in Los Angeles with the rest of the Top 24. Also, the show had stopped uploading her performance videos to social media. And Kenedi herself had gone completely quiet.
When Kenedi auditioned in Los Angeles, singing Lady Gaga’s “Applause,” she garnered the judges’ praise. She earned that city’s Platinum Ticket which afforded her extra perks during the Hollywood Round. Fans and the judges–Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan–considered the singer a front runner who could win the show.
