Photo: ABC/Eric McCandless
American Idolcontestant Kya Monée made an instant, emotional impression on the judges with a powerful tribute to late contestant Willie Spence on Sunday’s episode.
Monée, a close friend of Spence’s, who she previously performed a duet of Rihanna and Mikky Ekko’s “Stay” with him during Hollywood Week in 2021, told the trio on Sunday, “Losing Willie was just very, very hard for me.”
She continued, “Willie, he always told me, ‘No matter what, you’ll always be a singer.’ But three days before he passed, Willie was telling me, ‘You have to go back. You have to chase your dream. I’m going to go with you toAmerican Idol.’ He made me want to do it, and I’d really love to make it further. But most of all, I want to make Willie proud.”
Monée then explained that she and Spence picked her 2023 audition song together. “I’m singing ‘I’m Here’ fromThe Color Purple,” she said.
After her audition, during which she took a few pauses to hold back her emotions, Monée received a standing ovation from the teary-eyed judges, who could be heard sniffling amid their praise.
Willie Spence.Eric McCandless via Getty
“What you’ve given us was everything we’ve been trying to tell all of these kids,” Richie said after getting out of his seat to hug Monée. “That performance was so emotional, so heartfelt, so divinely guided in the glorious name of our dear brother Willie.”
Bryan agreed, saying of the moment, “I’ve lost some people in my life. When you go to sing, you just sing like Willie’s still here.”
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Perry then concurred with her fellow judges' high praise of the audition.
“It was on another level,” she said. “It was so connected to the pain, and everybody’s feeling this loss. But we also feel connected together because you are authentic — just like he was.”
source: people.com
