American Idol Contestants Keep Quitting In The Middle Of The Show, Reality Series In Big Trouble?
American Idol just had another contestant, Kaya Stewart, surprise the judges by abruptly leaving the competition.
ABC’s American Idol has lost another contestant after Kaya Stewart dropped out right before performing a duet with fellow contestant Fire. The pair were set to sing the Adam Lambert song “Whataya Want From Me” when Stewart made the abrupt announcement that she would not be continuing in the reality singing competition. Stewart told judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, and Lionel Richie “I got sick at the beginning of Hollywood Week and I have been trying to push myself and keep going,” adding “I’ve decided to not perform but Fire is going to perform and I’m really grateful that I got to be here and thank you guys but I’m not going to be performing” (via Deadline).
Stewart’s announcement left the American Idol contestant in tears as she left the stage, causing Fire to get emotional as well. Fire was feeling the pressure to perform the song on her own leading the judges to ask her fellow contestants if someone would duet with her. Jayna Elise stepped up to perform alongside Fire, and the judges ended up pushing Fire through to the next round after an emotional performance.
Normally, an American Idol contestant dropping out of the competition might not be a huge blow to the show, but this is the second contestant who has dropped out in the last week. Contestant Sara Beth Liebe took the stage Sunday to perform “Roxanne” by the Police and announced that it would be her final performance. After she finished the song, she said “This opportunity is really rad but this is actually going to be my last performance ’cause my heart’s at home, so I’m gonna get home to my babies,” before leaving the stage.
This caused confusion amongst the American Idol judges as Katy Perry urged her to continue competing. Sara Beth Liebe thanked the judges for their words but told a producer she felt she wouldn’t be winning the competition and that she was ready to return home to her kids. Sara Beth Liebe was also in the news earlier for taking to her TikTok account to say she felt “mom-shamed” by Perry during her audition.
The American Idol contestant is referring to her initial audition where the judges were surprised by her being 25 and having three kids. This led to Perry acting like she would fall. on the judges’ table out of shock and Liebe joking “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m gonna pass out.” Perry responded, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”
American Idol is far from the ratings juggernaut that it used to be when it was on Fox, so contestants dropping from the competition like flies is unlikely to help the ratings. From 2003 to 2011, either the performance show or result show of the singing competition ranked number one in US television ratings. It’s been a while since the series has reached these lofty heights.
The show gradually declined over the years after its 2011 season, with ratings dropping significantly with the introduction of The Voice and The X Factor during its eleventh season.
American Idol ratings would continue to decline, the series would lose its major sponsor Coca-Cola, and it would eventually announce its final season. The current version of the series is the ABC revival, which has never reached even close to the lofty ratings of the original run. The low ratings and the dropping contestants could spell trouble for the series, so we’ll have to wait and see if this issue continues throughout the rest of the season.
