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Source: the-sun.com
Kya had dueted with Willie on American Idol in 2021 and became close friends with the runner-up before his devastating death in a car accident.
She returned to the singing competition and gave an emotional speech about Willie during Sunday’s premiere of the new season.
Kya and Willie sang Rihanna’s hit Stay during Hollywood Week on season 19 and remained close after the competition.
Willie died aged 23 in a car crash in Tennessee in October 2022.
Kya said he had encouraged her to return to American Idol and try again before his death.
“Willie always told me, ‘No matter what, you will always be a singer,'” she said, breaking down in tears.
“Three days before he passed, Willie was telling me, ‘You have to go back. You have to chase your dreams. I’m going to go with you to American Idol.’
“He made me want to do it. I really want to make it further and most of all, I want to make Willie proud.”
Kya told the judges in the audition room: “He was actually supposed to be here with me today for my audition.
“It’s just very hard to not have that support anymore. I know that he would want me to be here.”
She sang I’m Here, from Broadway musical The Color Purple, a song that she and Willie had picked together.
Kya’s voice cracked with emotion during the song and she wiped away tears as she sang.
Katy looked equally emotional, fighting back tears as she watched the moving performance.
She said, “that’s how you sing through your tears,” as she gave the contestant a standing ovation.
The singer added: “It was so connected to the pain.
“But we also feel connected together, because you were authentic, just like he was.”
Lionel Richie also wiped away tears and gave Kya a hug at the end of her performance.
Willie finished American Idol in second place to Chayce Beckham in May 2021.
On October 12, 2022, it was revealed that Willie died in a car accident on Tuesday, October 11.
He lost his life after his Jeep Cherokee “left the roadway” and collided with the back of a tractor-trailer that was stopped on the hard shoulder.
Both Willie and the driver of the tractor-trailer, who was 68 years old, were wearing seat belts, according to a report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Marion County medical examiner.
As the news of the former Idol contestant’s death circulated, his fellow alumni took to social media to remember the young star’s life.
Season five runner-up Katharine McPhee commented on Instagram: “I received very tragic news tonight. Sweet @williespenceofficial passed away in a car accident.
