Kenedi Anderson, who quit American Idol in the middle, is currently a Ph.D. student. Two months after leaving the ABC program, the platinum ticket holder graduated from Western Albermarle High School.
The singer turned to Instagram to upload a photo of herself with a cap, gown, and certificate, expressing her joy at no longer having to go to school.
All about American Idol’s Kenedi Anderson
Kenedi Anderson, an 18-year-old singer, was in high school when she auditioned for American Idol and later left the competition. Anderson graduated from Western Albermarle High School last week, finishing her education, and she seemed ecstatic about not having to attend school any longer.
Anderson shared photos of her graduation day with her pals, wearing a blue gown and hat and carrying her diploma and flowers. She reached the joyful milestone barely eight weeks after leaving the program for “personal reasons,” upsetting the judges and American Idol viewers.
On April 11, 2022, at the Aulani Disney Resort in Hawaii, the singer departed American Idol after singing in the Top 24. For her last performance, she performed Christina Perri’s Human, captivating everyone with her talents.
“Well, you may have noticed that there was no voting information for Kenedi’s performance just now,” presenter Ryan Seacrest said following her performance. Kenedi has opted to resign from our program due to personal reasons since we filmed these episodes in Hawaii earlier. We wish her well, and we have amazing talent on this historic season, with more memorable Idol performances coming up right now.”
All about Kenedi Anderson’s American Idol journey
The Virginia native auditioned for the singing competition with a passionate performance of Lady Gaga’s Applause, which stunned the judges. Judge Luke Bryan stated she “could be one of the greatest talents we’ve ever seen,” while Katy Perry claimed she “was born to be a star.”
Following her electrifying performance, the judges awarded her one of three platinum tickets, sending her straight to Hollywood Week. Her audition video for American Idol has received over 5.7 million views on YouTube.
After competing in the Top 24, it was reported that the frontrunner had left the program and would no longer be a part of the singing competition. The singer confirmed this in an Instagram post.
Following her departure, the singer published an original song for her 50,000+ TikTok fans, fueling suspicions that she had landed a record contract, given the song’s lyrics: “I need to discover, need to find something greater than what I had, and with no ties attached.” Isn’t that something I deserved? Something without conditions.”
The music was eventually removed from the account.
Reasons for the sudden departure
Her “personal reason” remains unclear, but the singer has graduated from high school and is looking forward to the next chapter of her life.