Just one day after reaching the Top 16 of American Idol, Park City resident Wyatt Pike dropped out of the competition.
Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest made the announcement at the start of Monday night’s show on ABC. “I have to tell you that finalist Wyatt Pike will not be competing. He had to drop out. But we wish him all the best.”
The previous night, 24 finalists were reduced to 16 during a two-hour broadcast. Pike was the second-last participant in his group to make it through. The judges complimented Pike’s performance of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. Katy Perry calls him an ‘authentic songwriter’ and implies that he is a leader in the competition. Luke Bryan said Pike will “be able to make music for the rest of his life.” And Lionel Richie said Pike has a style that the judges liked to look at and that the 20-year-old was on his way to something big.
Late Monday night, Pike was silent about his departure from the program. Pike’s latest activity on social media was a message he made last Wednesday with photos of the Park City neighborhood, saying, “Something to feel it through: home. Grateful for the rollercoaster I’m on today.”
KPCW tried to reach Pike and an American Idol publicist who helped facilitate interviews with Pike during the show, but received no response. Until last year, Pike was a volunteer DJ at KPCW. He spoke to Leslie Thatcher of KPCW The local news hour on March 26 about his experience on American Idol. People magazine reports that an American Idol representative said, “Wyatt could not continue for personal reasons.”