Only one day subsequent to making the Top 16 of American Idol, Park City inhabitant Wyatt Pike exited the competition.
Idol host Ryan Seacrest made the declaration toward the start of Monday night’s show on ABC. “I have to tell you that finalist Wyatt Pike will not be competing in the competition. He had to drop out. But we wish him the very best.”
The night prior to, 24 finalists were limited to 16 during a two hour broadcast. Pike was the second-to-last contestant in his group to progress. The judges complimented Pike’s performance of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. Katy Perry called him an “authentic singer songwriter” and inferred he was a leader in the competition. Luke Bryan said Pike was going to “be able to do music for the rest of his life.” And Lionel Richie said Pike had a style the judges liked to watch and the 20-year old was en route “way to something big.”
Actually Monday evening, Pike has been quiet about his takeoff from the show. The last action from Pike via social media was a post he made last Wednesday with photos of the Park City region, saying “Something to feel this through: home. Thankful for the rollercoaster I’m on today.”
KPCW has attempted to arrive at Pike and a publicist from American Idol who had worked with interviews with Pike during the show, yet has not gotten any answer. As of recently, Pike was a volunteer DJ at KPCW. He addressed KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher on The Local News Hour on March 26th about his experience on American Idol. People magazine reports that an American Idol representative said “Wyatt could not continue due to personal reasons.”