What did Kenedi Anderson do after quitting American Idol Season 20? Singer deletes original song video after it sparks record deal rumors

Last week's episode of American Idol saw the Top 24 perform in front of judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. While there were some incredible performances for the evening, one announcement left viewers asking for more. Kenedi Anderson withdrew her participation from the competition, stating personal reasons.

The 17-year-old American Idol frontrunner released an original song on TikTok just days after walking away from the reality singing competition series. When her decision was made public, it sparked a flurry of rumors, the most popular being that the singer had signed a record deal.

With Kenedi not being present, there are only 23 contestants who will be competing against each other for America's votes. They gave their first performance as the Top 23 last week at Aulani Resort in Hawaii. After a two-hour special on Sunday and Monday, April 10, 11, 2022, the country has voted for the Top 20, which will be revealed in this week's episode.

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Kenedi debuts with an original after her shocking American Idol exit

The singing sensation from Crozet, Virginia, shared a TikTok video of herself singing an original song. The video that has since then been deleted from the platform stated:

“Here is the chorus of a song I wrote not too long ago. “I need to find, need to find something better than what I had, and with no strings attached. Don’t I deserve that? Something with no strings attached.”

The video has not been shared on any of her other social media accounts and Kenedi is yet to comment on the same.

Kenedi performed Human by Christina Perri as part of her Top 24 performance on American Idol. However, after her performance aired on television, instead of proceeding with the judges' opinions, the show cut to host Ryan Seacrest making an announcement:

“Well, you might have noticed that there was no voting information for Kenedi’s performance just now. Since we taped these shows in Hawaii earlier, Kenedi has decided to withdraw from our show for personal reasons. We send her well wishes and, needless to say, we have incredible talent on this historic season with more iconic Idol performances coming up right now.”

As the announcement was made, Kenedi also made a post on Instagram about her decision to withdraw from American Idol. She said:

"For personal reasons, I'm unable to continue on American Idol. This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but I know it's necessary."

Fans took to her post's comments to express their disappointment at the exit and support for the star for her future endeavors.

Fans react to American Idol contestant Kenedi Anderson's exit (Image via kenedianderson_/Instagram)

The singer made headlines after her initial audition on the show. She blew the judges away with her performance, earning the most coveted platinum ticket that allowed her to skip one round of Hollywood Week.

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A representative for show producer Fremantle Media spoke to People about Kenedi's exit from the competition and said:

"We are disappointed to see Kenedi leave, but we are excited to watch this celebratory 20th season unfold with the incredible talent vying to be the next American Idol."

American Idol will air back-to-back episodes on Sunday and Monday, i.e., April 17 and 18, 2022, with the 23 contestants competing for a spot in the Top 20. The show will be graced by the Season 19 winner Chayce Beckham and Season 11 winner Phillip Phillips.