A day after reaching the Top 16 of American Idol, Park City resident Wyatt Pike left the competition.
Idol host Ryan Seacrest made the announcement at the start of the Monday night show on ABC. “I have to tell you that finalist Wyatt Pike will not be competing in the competition. He had to give up. But we wish him all the best.”
The night before, 24 finalists were reduced to 16 during a two-hour broadcast. Pike was the last contestant in his group to advance. The judges complemented Pike’s rendition of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. Katy Perry called him a “true songwriter” and hinted that he was a leader in the competition. Luke Bryan said Pike “could make music the rest of his life.” And Lionel Richie said Pike had a style that judges liked to see and that the 20-year-old was on his way to “something big.”
Late Monday evening, Pike has been silent about his departure from the show. Pike’s latest activity on social media was a post he made last Wednesday with pictures of the Park City area, which said “Something to hear: at home. Grateful for the roller coaster I’m on today.” .
KPCW has tried to reach out to Pike and an American Idol publicist who had helped facilitate interviews with Pike during the show, but has received no response. Until last year, Pike was a volunteer DJ at KPCW. He spoke with Leslie Thatcher of KPCW Local news time on March 26 about his experience on American Idol. Gent the magazine reports that a representative of American Idol said “Wyatt could not continue for personal reasons.”