Kaya Stewart, daughter of Eurythmics singer Dave Stewart, quit American Idol during Hollywood Week after falling sick and being unable to give 100 percent during her performance. Stewart was paired with singer Fire Wilmore to sing Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me,” but was too ill to continue. The surprise exit came one night after Sara Beth Liebe announced on the show that she was quitting because she missed her children.
Kaya Stewart quit American Idol during Hollywood Week due to illness and being unable to give 100% to her performance.
On Monday, April 3, Kaya Stewart quit American Idol during the show’s Hollywood Week, leaving judge Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie in tears. The 23-year-old singer got sick during the rehearsal day and paired with Fire Wilmore to sing Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me.” Unfortunately, as the day progressed, Kaya got sicker, couldn’t remember the words, and wasn’t meeting her performance standards, so she made the difficult decision to quit the competition.
“I don’t think it’s a fair representation of myself to do that — or for Fire either. I don’t think it’s fair on her to not give one hundred percent when she’s giving one hundred percent,” Kaya explained. She hinted at not making it through the performance, saying, “Of course I wanted to continue in the show, but I needed to take a break today. I mean, it’s definitely not an easy decision.”
During the performance, Kaya revealed that she wasn’t able to give 100% and that she was quitting the competition. Perry asked if that meant she had decided to leave the show, to which Kaya confirmed and apologized for it before quickly leaving. Fire Wilmore tearfully performed the duet with a volunteer Jayna Elise, which left Perry and Richie emotional.
On the previous episode, Sara Beth Liebe announced that she would quit the show, as she realized how hard it was to be away from her kids, who are still very young. “There’s a lot of guilt that comes when you leave your kids to do something completely selfish. I’m just gonna try to keep my head on straight,” the 25-year-old mother of three confessed to mentor Clay Aiken. After her “Roxanne” performance, she told the judges she would quit the show to be with her children.
Two singers quitting the show consecutively has left many fans wondering what’s happening on American Idol. Nonetheless, despite the challenges that come with competiting on the show, it still doesn’t stop fans from tuning in to catch their favorite performers.
